Rasul Jafarov nominated for Human Rights Tulip

Under arrest, the Azerbaijani human rights activist Rasul Jafarov has been nominated for the international human rights award Human Rights Tulip.

Jafarov in December 2012 organized a campaign called "Art for Democracy" which "encourages young people to stand up for justice through the arts, and not through violence," the organization said.

In addition to Jafarov, candidates for the awards were 29 human rights activists from different countries. The selection of the winner takes place in several stages. In the first stage the Internet users vote for their favorite candidate. Then the choice is made by an independent jury. The final decision is taken by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The public voting will last until October 10.

Human Rights Tulip Award was established in 2007 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. It is presented annually to human rights activists or organizations that fight for human rights.

The nominees for this award are human rights activists who use an innovative approach to the solution of human rights problems. The awards ceremony will be held in The Hague on December 9.

* Jafarov was arrested Aug. 2 on charges of "illegal business", "tax evasion" and "abuse of office".

Amnesty International recognized Jafarov as a "prisoner of conscience". -06D-