Washington Post Criticizes COP29 Host Azerbaijan for Human Rights Abuses

The Washington Post issued a scathing editorial on Tuesday, arguing that the upcoming COP29 climate conference is inadvertently bolstering a despotic regime in Azerbaijan.

A recent joint report by Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now highlights a surge in political repression within Azerbaijan, coinciding with the months leading up to the climate summit. The report details the arrest of dozens of individuals on politically motivated and unfounded criminal charges, escalating the number of political prisoners from 122 in December 2021 to at least 303 by June this year.

The editorial underscores the case of Gubad Ibadoghlu, a prominent economist detained in July 2023 on fabricated charges of extremist activity and counterfeiting. Ibadoghlu had exposed mismanagement of Azerbaijan’s oil wealth by President Ilham Aliyev. Although transferred to house arrest on April 22, he remains under constant surveillance. His pretrial investigation is suspended, but he faces the threat of re-arrest and is barred from leaving the country despite suffering from a serious heart condition that requires international medical treatment.

Another focal point is the detention of Anar Mammadli, a seasoned activist and leader of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center. Mammadli, a founding member of the Climate Justice Initiative, was forcibly taken into custody in Baku in April and charged with currency smuggling—a common accusation levied against civil society activists. Previously imprisoned for two and a half years, Mammadli's detention is viewed by the European Court of Human Rights as an attempt to silence his election monitoring efforts. Despite his attempts to register his non-governmental organizations, the Azerbaijani government has consistently denied him legal recognition.

The report also criticizes President Aliyev’s intolerance of political opposition. Aliyev has initiated a criminal case against Ali Karimli, chairman of the opposition Popular Front Party, on baseless charges of slander and insult. The trial has been repeatedly postponed, likely to extend beyond the duration of the climate conference. Additionally, the government has intensified its crackdown on independent media, with 18 media professionals currently imprisoned, including Khadija Ismayilova of Toplum TV. Ismayilova was jailed for one and a half years on dubious charges of tax evasion and embezzlement after exposing corruption within the regime.

The Washington Post editorial argues that while addressing global warming is a universal imperative requiring collective action, hosting major climate conferences in authoritarian states like Azerbaijan undermines the legitimacy of such gatherings. The publication suggests that selecting a permanent host country with robust environmental credentials and democratic values, such as Costa Rica, could help end the cycle of supporting regimes with poor human rights records.