Azerbaijan ‘clamping down on free speech’ as election nears
A crackdown on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan is ‘escalating dramatically’ in the run-up to the country’s October presidential election, finds a new report
“With the scope of the government’s crackdown on dissent broadening and the abuses more flagrant than ever, the next quarter could prove to be the most dangerous period yet for critical journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, and civil and political activists,” said Emin Huseynov, CEO and Chairman of the IMS-supported Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), launching the report.
The IRFS report (PDF) details freedom of expression developments in Azerbaijan over the past six months. It exposes an ‘unprecedented crackdown’ on the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, according to IRFS.
Azerbaijan’s presidential election is slated for mid-October.
The report finds that in the last six months, seven journalists, one blogger, and two human rights defenders remained behind bars on charges related to the issue of freedom of expression. From January to June, Azerbaijan saw 26 new attacks against journalists and a lack of progress in any of the previous hundreds of attacks, including two murders, says the report.
The first half of 2013 was also marked by the adoption of a series of regressive legislation, including President Aliyev signing into law a series of amendments that will extend criminal defamation provisions to online content, says the report.
President Ilham Aliyev has been in power since 2003. His father, President Heydar Aliyev ruled the country from 1993-2003.
Azerbaijan has been criticised in the past by the OSCE for its poor handling of the electoral process and crackdowns on political dissent, with all previous OSCE-monitored elections in Azerbaijan falling short of international standards.
“IRFS calls on the international community to pay close attention to the pre-election situation in Azerbaijan and to increase pressure on the government to fulfill its international human rights obligations. Now, more than ever, actions are needed, not just words,” IRFS said at the launch of the report.
Read the full report, Azerbaijan’s Free Expression Crackdown Intensifies in Run-up to Election (PDF).