Rufat Safarov
“As a human rights defender, I strongly condemn the repressive operations against individuals imprisoned on fabricated charges. Unfortunately, I cannot follow the politically motivated trials that were postponed due to COP 29 but resumed immediately after COP. However, I am confident that the end of these inhumane repressions is near. Democracy will surely triumph, the Azerbaijani people will undoubtedly achieve freedom, and justice will inevitably prevail in our country!”
This statement by Rufat Safarov, the imprisoned executive director of the human rights organization "Line of Defense," was shared on his Facebook profile.
According to the human rights defender, the Azerbaijani government is determined to conclude the last month of 2024 with "intensified repressions."
“No one is surprised anymore by the arrest of individuals, whether one by one or in groups, and the application of the traditional slander mechanisms with equal ‘success’ against both individuals and groups. The government effectively uses fabricated witnesses and arguments to pin all its criminal activities on its opponents. Who doesn’t know that fraud, smuggling, and illegal drug trafficking are activities characteristic of this regime’s entire hierarchy from top to bottom? The arrests of Meydan TV staff on December 8 and prominent public and political figure Azer Gasimli on December 9 on trumped-up charges should be regarded as punitive operations by the regime against Azerbaijani society. I believe all progressive forces see it exactly this way,” Safarov’s statement, shared on his profile, reads.
The latest report on the new list of political prisoners by the "Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan" states that between September 23 and December 12 this year, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan increased by 17, reaching 331 individuals. Most of the newly detained are Meydan TV staff, other media workers, human rights defender Rufat Safarov, political analyst Azer Gasimli, and religious activists.
Numerous international organizations, including the European Parliament and the U.S. Department of State, have appealed to the Azerbaijani authorities to release those "unjustly imprisoned."
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