To include Azerbaijan in the British list of human rights violators

On Tuesday British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, who arrived in Baku to attend the ceremony of  signing the investment agreement for the field "Shah Deniz 2",  met with civil society activists in Azerbaijan - Khadija Ismailova , Emin Huseynov,  Turgut Gambar , Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, and Ali Novruzov.

During the meeting they discussed the state of human rights, civil liberties in Azerbaijan. According to one of the participants of the meeting, Hague was informed about gross violations by the Azerbaijani government  the national legislation and international obligations in the field of human rights and freedoms. "But it was obvious that the Minister  is aware about what is happening in the country,"- said the source.

Civil society activists have called  the UK to use its influence, and take a principled stand in relations with the Azerbaijani government on the issue of human rights. In particular, it was suggested to include Azerbaijan into the list of countries whom the UK  considers human rights violators, and tracks in its annual report "Human Rights and Democracy." The list includes 27 countries , four of which are post-Soviet:  Russia , Belarus, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.—0—