There is another human rights crisis in Azerbaijan

Dozens of people arrested with bogus coup charge for attending rally against Armenian occupation and solidarity with army. Yes you have got it right. Azerbaijani government arrests people for protesting Armenian occupation.

There were two incidents during the rally. Group of the people entered the parliament building and another group attacked police car blocking the road. Most of the arrested people have not been even nearby of those incidents. They just all happen to be government critics and almost half of arrested people are members of Popular Front Party.

Some of PFPA members arrested didn’t even attend the rally. Among them-Ayaz Maharramli who did not appear in the Appeal Court today - as police explained, he didn’t want to- as we understand because he was subjected to torture and is not presentable.

Among those who are arrested for being inside the parliament- Siyavush Mustafayev, he is not PFPA member, but former political prisoner. The video of him inside the parliament shows that he called everyone to leave the building “because this is not the reason they have come for”.

Poet with pen name Yetim Gajar (Manaf Karimov) is also under arrest. He was inside the parliament building but was arrested two days after, for cracking a joke in Facebook suggesting that no parliament member attends parliament hearings because the president vowed to arrest all those who entered parliament illegally (referring election falsification)

Several people are charged of spreading coronavirus by attending the rally, never mind they have learned about them being infected five days after arrest and the credibility of the test results is highly doubting because police accompanying them to the court doesn’t take any safety precautions. Even if they are infected it is not clear if this happened during the night of arrest when more than hundred protesters were kept in small facility so crowded that they couldn’t even sit.

Most of those who are under arrest were not even present during any of those lightly violent incidents and are arrested solely for criticism. Those who were in the incident location should be subject only for administrative charges.

What we need?

1. Urgent reaction by UN Human Rights bodies, CoE, OSCE and other international organizations

2. Urgent anti-torture mission

3. independent UN commission to investigate government’s abuse of Covid-19 situation.