Is There Pressure on Human Rights Defenders? "No." "There’s Government Jealousy."

On December 10, International Human Rights Day will be observed. Ahead of this day, Azerbaijani human rights defender Rufat Safarov has been arrested. On December 4, the Binagadi District Court imposed a four-month pretrial detention order against him. The official charges include fraud, hooliganism, and infliction of minor injuries, but Safarov denies these accusations, linking his arrest to his human rights activities.

On social media, there is increasing discussion about the growing difficulties of working in the field of human rights in Azerbaijan in recent years. Some even argue that the number of independent and genuine human rights defenders in the country has significantly declined.

Novella Jafaroglu, Chairperson of the Azerbaijan Women’s Rights Protection Society named after Dilara Aliyeva, told Turan that working in the field has become more difficult compared to previous years: “People we used to approach to convey our opinions have become inaccessible. At the same time, we no longer have the access we used to have to prisons and penitentiary institutions. Maybe someone else is conducting monitoring visits, but we don’t see them engaging with the situation of inmates there.”

According to Jafaroglu, ministries they used to contact have also become out of reach: “Previously, we would highlight human rights issues to them. We had a working group that brought together the efforts of all human rights defenders, but now such a group no longer exists. When we do get a chance to present problems, steps are taken toward their resolution.”

However, Jafaroglu emphasized that there is no pressure or persecution of human rights defenders in the country.

Zafer Ahmadov, co-founder of the Defense Line human rights organization, holds a different view. Speaking to Radio Azadliq, he noted that human rights defenders in countries like Azerbaijan face several challenges: “One of these challenges is the issue of resources. This includes human resources, information gathering and dissemination, financial, and technical matters. If a human rights organization lacks financial sources, its activities either become extremely difficult or impossible.”

According to Ahmadov, the government considers the opinions of organizations that it funds and supports with office spaces in matters like pardons:
“From that perspective, these organizations have their benefits.”

However, Ahmadov believes that it is currently impossible to engage fully in human rights work in the country: “The government is excessively jealous of this type of activity and views it as even more dangerous than political activism. The collection and dissemination of information about violations by human rights defenders cause extreme irritation within the government.”

Officials, however, reject claims of pressure on civil society representatives and journalists, insisting that all fundamental freedoms are protected in the country and that no obstacles are created for human rights work.