US Ambassador to OSCE: "Why so many opposition and civil society prosecutions in Azerbaijan?"

Washington on Thursday expressed its "deep disappointment" by the judicial process leading to the March 17 sentencing of two prominent opposition politicians in Azerbaijan on charges of allegedly inciting the last year's unrest in Ismayilli, where a seemingly minor car accident led to riots calling for the local governor's resignation.

A statement on convictions of REAL head Ilgar Mammadov and Musavat Party Deputy Chair Tofig Yagublu delivered by Daniel Baer, US Ambassador to the OSCE, during the Permanent Council  meeting in Vienna.

Baer also twitted on his Twitter account that while at OSCE, Azerbaijan argues that it is a model of democracy, "why so many political opposition and civil society prosecutions?"

Back at the Permanent Council meeting, the ambassador mentioned that before and during the legal process [of Mammadov and Yagublu], his country urged Azeri officials "at all levels" to ensure an open and fair trial of the defendants.

"While we welcomed the Azerbaijani government's decision to allow US and other international observers to monitor the trial, both US and other observers saw significant irregularities in witness testimony and court proceedings," the ambassador emphasized.

"My government calls on the Azerbaijani government to engage with the OSCE to address Azerbaijan's challenges and implement its OSCE commitments related to the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association constructively," he said.

Washington urges Baku to "ensure a continued robust OSCE field presence that works in all three dimensions, throughout the country, and engages with the full spectrum of Azerbaijani society as envisioned in the mandate of the Project Coordinator."

A.Raufoglu

Washington, DC