Statement by Catherine Ashton and Štefan Füle on the arrest of Rasul Jafarov in Azerbaijan
Spoke persons of EU commissioners Catherine Ashton and Stefan Fule have made on August 6 the next statement on situation with the civil society of Azerbaijan.
“We note with dismay that another prominent human rights defender, Rasul Jafarov, has been arrested in Azerbaijan. The charges against Mr Jafarov relate to his work for the Human Rights Club NGO and appear to be directly linked to recent changes in Azerbaijan's legislation covering non-governmental organisations. We stated our concern at these changes in our statement of 12 February 2014.
The arrest of Mr Jafarov, coming so soon after the arrest last week of Dr Leyla Yunus, adds to the impression that the authorities are systematically restricting the space for public discourse and civil society in Azerbaijan. We have also learned with concern that the husband of Dr Yunus, Mr Arif Yunus, has been sentenced to three months' pre-trial detention yesterday.
We remain concerned by the security situation in the region, and recall our statement of 3 August 2014 regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. We are convinced that the civil society has a vital role to play in defending fundamental freedoms, especially during times of conflict. This was the message delivered by European Commission President Barroso to President Aliyev during his visit to Azerbaijan on 14 June 2014.
We call on the authorities in Azerbaijan to stand by the Council of Europe standards to which they are party. Furthermore, we urge them to reassess their policy towards independent civil society with a view to facilitating an open and inclusive national discourse in line with international standards”, - reads the statement. -0-
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- Politics
- 6 August 2014 18:06
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- Political Monitoring
- 6 August 2014 20:09
Politics
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By the order of the head of state, Rufat Mahmud has been appointed the new head of the historical and architectural reserve "Icheri Sheher" – the historic center of Baku.
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On February 13, the Appeal Court did not satisfy the defense's appeal against the decision of the Khatai Court regarding the arrest of journalist Shahnaz Beylargizi. According to the lawyer, the journalist herself did not participate in the trial due to poor health. The defense intends to submit a petition to replace the arrest with house arrest.
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Azerbaijan will limit 'Sputnik Azerbaijan' and 'BBC News Azərbaycanca' editorial offices. This was reported by the country's pro-government media on 13 February, citing an informed source.
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