European Games 2015 open in Azerbaijan amidst crackdown on human rights and media freedom

As the first European Games kick off in Azerbaijan on Friday, 12 June, the country is experiencing an unprecedented human rights crackdown, the worst since the Soviet era. The European Olympic Committee (EOC) has persistently ignored this massive wave of repression in choosing the country to host the Games, and is idly standing by as scores of European athletes descend on Azerbaijan  from 12 – 28 June while local journalists and human rights defenders remain behind bars

By Gulnara Akhundova, IMS

In the opening week of the European Games in Baku, also known to some as the European Olympics, it was made public that Members of the European Parliament from a range of political groups had in fact signed a statement on 28 May calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Azerbaijan. They also called for Members of the Council and the Commission to refrain from attending any official events or ceremonies around the European Games in Azerbaijan unless the political prisoners were released.

However, Azerbaijan has stopped listening to the criticism put forward by the West regarding the country’s imposed limitations on freedom of expression. Conditions worsened this week with the news that the Guardian has been banned from entering the country to cover the opening ceremony. Earlier in the week, UK-based activist and journalist Emma Hughes was detained at the airport in Baku and deported the following day. Hughes was told she is on a “red list” and is prohibited from entering the country. Leading human rights organization Amnesty International has been been forced to cancel a planned visit to Azerbaijan after being told by the government at the last minute that the mission should be postponed until after the European Games.

A statement from the European Olympic Committee said the ban on journalists is “completely against the spirit of sport”, and promised that EOC president, Patrick Hickey, would raise the matter with the authorities.

“It is always a matter of concern when a sports journalist wishing to cover a sporting event is refused access,” said the statement. “Now that president Hickey is in Baku, he will be urging the highest levels of government to take the necessary steps to ensure full and free reporting on Baku 2015 for all media wishing to cover the European Games. These high-level discussions will be conducted in private.”

The EOC has repeatedly sought to evade public criticism of the human rights abuses that undermine the very principles of the Olympic Charter. While billions in Europe are watching the Games, dozens of political prisoners, including eight journalists and five human rights defenders, are languishing behind bars. These people have been jailed on spurious charges, and some of them are facing prison sentences of up to 12 years.  These include Rasul Jafarov, a widely respected human rights defender and advocate on the issue of wrongful imprisonment in Azerbaijan. He is the initiator of the “Sport for Rights” campaign which is now being run by a coalition of international organizations. Or Khadija Ismayilova, an award-winning investigative journalist who has been thrown behind bars for exposing corruption among top officials in Azerbaijan.

In a few days, Emin Huseynov, a well-known freedom of speech advocate, will mark the 10 month “anniversary” of his stay at the Swiss Embassy in Baku, where he sought refuge from his imminent arrest on fabricated charges. Last month, the European Court of Human Rights found that Azerbaijan had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by torturing Emin in 2008. But Emin remains stuck at the Embassy, with his health rapidly deteriorating.

The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), which Emin founded and led, was one of the most active civil society institutions on freedom of press and expression. In August 2014 the IRFS office was closed after a police raid during which documents and equipment were confiscated.

The crackdown extends beyond non-governmental organisations. The regime is now targeting international institutions. On 5 June it was announced that the Azerbaijani government has decided to close down the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) office in Baku. The only explanation given in the official statement was that the government no longer sees any further need for the activity of the OSCE Project Coordinator in Baku.

Behind the fireworks and the glamour of the European Games’ opening ceremony, reality is bleak. But international journalists will struggle to investigate the dark side of the European Games, because there is no one left inside the country to tell that story.