Image source: hrw
On October 8, 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report titled “We Try Not to Show: The Escalating Repression in Azerbaijan Against Critics and Civil Society,” detailing the Azerbaijani government’s efforts to “destroy civil society and silence critics by force.”
According to the report, Azerbaijani authorities have arrested dozens of individuals on politically motivated criminal charges and imposed arbitrary legal restrictions that push independent organizations and media outlets to the fringes of legality, making them more vulnerable to retaliatory criminal prosecution.
The report highlights 33 notable cases of criminal prosecution, detention, and assault, documented by HRW and another human rights organization. It finds that Azerbaijani authorities have deliberately misused laws regulating NGOs to prevent certain organizations from registering or receiving funding, exposing their members to potential criminal charges.
Giorgi Gogia, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated that the Azerbaijani government’s disregard for civil liberties has placed independent groups and critical media on a “path to extinction.” Gogia urged the government to improve its international reputation by releasing imprisoned critics and halting the use of spurious charges against civil society, especially ahead of the 29th climate conference.
Andrea Prasow, Executive Director of Freedom Now, accused the Azerbaijani government of attempting to dismantle civil society through a series of unjust arrests and legal restrictions on NGOs. She called on other governments and UN officials to “urgently demand Azerbaijan release arbitrarily detained activists immediately and unconditionally.”
HRW and Freedom Now interviewed more than 40 Azerbaijani lawyers, relatives of detainees, and NGO staff and managers as part of their investigation. The two organizations also reviewed Azerbaijani laws and regulations governing NGOs, legal documents from specific criminal cases, rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, and other relevant materials.
The report reveals that authorities have “fiercely” targeted the last three remaining independent online news platforms in Azerbaijan, including Abzas Media and Toplum TV, arresting and charging at least 12 employees from these outlets. Offices of Abzas and Toplum were raided, closed, and their equipment confiscated. Their social media accounts were hacked, websites taken down, and reporters from other outlets, as well as leaders of unregistered groups, were arrested. Even trade unionists and others who dared to criticize or protest government policies have been targeted.
The organizations found that the Ministry of Justice selectively enforces certain legal provisions or disregards the law entirely to prevent certain groups from registering and restrict their access to funding or the ability to operate legally. While some media platforms have been forced to turn off, while others continue to operate on the margins of legality, exposing themselves to significant risks.
Of the 33 documented cases, 20 individuals were accused of smuggling money into the country, while others faced various charges, including illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, document forgery, and tax evasion.
The report concludes that the Azerbaijani authorities are prosecuting activists in retaliation for their legitimate work in a legal environment that makes independent activities almost impossible, putting them at constant risk of criminal prosecution.
Based on international law, the government of Azerbaijan is obligated to protect the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. This includes the right to form legal organizations for collective action in areas of common interest. The European Court of Human Rights has issued multiple rulings that the Azerbaijani government’s failure to register independent NGOs violates the right to freedom of assembly. In at least one case, the court found that authorities restricted rights with the “ulterior motive” of punishing human rights activists.
Human Rights Watch has previously described Azerbaijan’s human rights record as poor, with the government regularly targeting key figures in society, including human rights defenders, journalists, and independent civic activists. Over the past two years, the government’s crackdown on dissenting voices and critics has intensified.
The government employs several methods to target these individuals, including arrests and prosecutions on politically motivated charges and the arbitrary enforcement of restrictive laws on NGOs’. These actions exclude independent activists and the media from legal avenues to conduct their work, forcing them to operate in legal grey areas and increasing their vulnerability to retaliatory prosecution.
In the same context, according to Amnesty International, people have the right to protest peacefully, and states have a duty to respect and protect this right. Governments should not interfere in demonstrations unless there is a legitimate threat to the safety or rights of others.
on July 27, 2020, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopts and states that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. This right is a tool that facilitates and is closely linked to many other rights guaranteed by international law, forming the basis for participation in peaceful protests.
Same Justice Human Rights Organization emphasizes the importance of preserving and protecting the right to freedom of expression in accordance with international laws, stressing on protecting demonstrators and ensure their right to express their opinions freely through protests, gatherings, assembly and other activities.
