{"id":168201,"date":"2015-06-04T12:15:57","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T12:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/article\/un-expert-azerbaijan-should-free-human-rights-defenders-ahead-of-eurogames\/"},"modified":"2021-10-29T12:20:35","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T08:20:35","slug":"un-expert-azerbaijan-should-free-human-rights-defenders-ahead-of-eurogames","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/en\/article\/un-expert-azerbaijan-should-free-human-rights-defenders-ahead-of-eurogames\/","title":{"rendered":"UN expert: Azerbaijan should free human rights defenders ahead of EuroGames"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/az\/25900\/\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25900\"\/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/az\/25900\/\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25900\"\/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\n  <i><br \/>\n    Source: UN News Centre<br \/>\n  <\/i>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst on June 2, 2015 urged Azerbaijan to immediately release human rights activists before the inaugural European Games set for June 12-28,<br \/>\n  <b><br \/>\n    <i><br \/>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/apps\/news\/story.asp?NewsID=51034#.VW_ThpdVjDs\"><br \/>\n        UN News Center<br \/>\n      <\/a><br \/>\n    <\/i><br \/>\n  <\/b><br \/>\n  reported.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cAs preparations are in full swing for the Baku Games, the Azerbaijani authorities stepped up their efforts to harass, jail, and surveil human rights defenders, as well as ban them from travel and freeze their assets,\u201d he<br \/>\n  <b><br \/>\n    <i><br \/>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/NewsEvents\/Pages\/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16029&amp;LangID=E\"><br \/>\n        said<br \/>\n      <\/a><br \/>\n    <\/i><br \/>\n  <\/b><br \/>\n  .\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Forst condemned the \u201crelentless prosecution and repression of prominent rights activists in Azerbaijan.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He further underscored that such \u201cunjustifiable criminalization\u201d was usually justified with trumped-up or politically-motivated charges of state treason, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion and abuse of office.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cAs a result, most Azerbaijani defenders have had to endure prolonged pre-trial detention, imprisonment or exile,\u201d Forst added.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  In particular, he drew attention to actions against<br \/>\n  <b><br \/>\n    <i><br \/>\n      <a href=\"\/en\/article\/freedom-house-intigam-aliyev-is-azerbaijans-magnitskiy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        Intigam Aliyev<br \/>\n      <\/a><br \/>\n    <\/i><br \/>\n  <\/b><br \/>\n  and<br \/>\n  <i><br \/>\n    <b><br \/>\n      <a href=\"\/en\/article\/khadija-ismayilovas-mother-i-told-her-not-to-give-in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n        Khadija Ismayilova<br \/>\n      <\/a><br \/>\n    <\/b><br \/>\n  <\/i><br \/>\n  for documenting cases of political prisoners, as well as Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif, for criticizing the government, and Rasul Jafarov for organizing a \u201cSport for Rights\u201d initiative during the Baku Games that aimed to expose corruption and rights abuses in the country.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Forst lamented continued efforts \u201cto stifle fundamental freedoms of expression and association, and to shrink the democratic space even further in the country.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The inaugural European Olympic Games represent \u201can opportunity for the countries of Europe to come together and celebrate the Olympic spirit of freedom and inclusiveness,\u201d the UN expert noted, adding that the host country should embody those ideas and free rights defenders.\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst urged Azerbaijan to immediately release human rights activists before the inaugural European Games set for June 12-28.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":25900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - 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