Europe Plus

As the West has turned its attention to the Islamic
State and the Ukraine crisis, the government of President Ilham Aliyev
has expanded its crackdown on dissenting voices in Azerbaijan with
harassment, threats, beatings, and arrests. Even American citizens and
international NGOs have bet caught up in the widening net of repression.
These actions demand a response.

For years, Belarus’s leader
Alexander Lukashenka has been called Europe’s last dictator, although
Vladimir Putin is giving Lukashenka a run for his money, amidst the
worst crackdown on human rights in Russia in decades. And now we might
also add another leader in the region to the list: President Ilham
Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

After an accelerating series of arrests, Aliyev’s government now holds nearly 100 political prisoners,
roughly double the number in Belarus and Russia combined. Beyond the
raw numbers, Azerbaijan’s authorities are also getting more thuggish in
their handling of critics, journalists, and opposition figures—as well
as Westerners.

Statements of concern and criticism from Western and international
officials and organizations have fallen on deaf ears in Baku. Even
President Obama’s recent criticism
of Azerbaijan’s treatment of NGOs made no impact. To the contrary,
there are now credible reports that the Azerbaijani authorities plan to
arrest investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova when she returns to
Baku from a trip abroad. The best way to try to reverse this disturbing
trend is to impose penalties on the Aliyev regime for its outrageous
treatment of its own people.

Among the most egregious abuses are the July 30 arrests
of civil society activists Leyla and Arif Yunus, accused of spying for
Armenian secret services—implausible charges linked to the decades-old
dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. On August 20, journalist Ilgar Nasibov
was savagely beaten
into a state of unconsciousness while he was in the office of a rights
organization in the Naxcivan region. Several leading opposition
figures—including Ilgar Mamedov of the opposition movement REAL and
Tofig Yakublu of Musavat—languish in prison on unsubstantiated charges.

American citizens and organizations are not immune from Azerbaijan’s
heavy-handed intolerance of dissenting voices. Said Nuri, an American
citizen of Azerbaijani origin, was recently blocked for nearly a week
from leaving Baku, after visiting his ailing father. The local offices
of several American and international non-governmental organizations
have been raided and/or their bank accounts frozen, and their employees
harassed including IREX, the National Democratic Institute, Transparency
International, and Oxfam. Several grantees of the National Endowment
for Democracy have been arrested, and numerous others have had their
accounts frozen.

Azerbaijan’s smear campaign has included U.S. officials, too.
Recently departed U.S. Ambassador Richard Morningstar was subjected to
various personal attacks by Azerbaijani government representatives,
including the Chief of the Presidential Administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev.
Senate staffers during a visit to Baku earlier this year were called
“dogs” by a prosecutor and “spies” by a parliamentarian after meeting
with Khadija Ismayilova.

Any individual or organization that criticizes Aliyev or promotes
democracy is viewed as hostile. Mehdiyev has characterized independent
media as “anti-Azerbaijani forces” financed from abroad.

The Council of Europe’s human rights chief, Nils Muiznieks, slammed
the Azerbaijani government earlier this month for the “totally
unacceptable” human rights situation, which, he said,
“flies in the face of the human rights obligations undertaken by
Azerbaijan” as a member of the Council. In August, several UN human
rights envoys said they were “appalled” by the growing number of abuses
and arrests of rights activists “on the basis of trumped-up charges.”
The “criminalization of rights activists must stop,” they declared, calling for the release of the Yunuses and others.

For years, Azerbaijan’s oil and gas reserves insulated the country
from exposure for its abysmal human rights record. The West’s attention
lately has been focused on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the challenge
of the Islamic State, giving the Aliyev regime a sense that it can get
away with its crackdown. To be safe, at last month’s NATO summit it offered
to take part in investment and reconstruction projects in Afghanistan,
betting that contributions to the allied effort would buy it a pass on
its internal situation. Azerbaijan has also thrown around lots of the
money it has earned from energy exports to buy influence and friends in the West.

Azerbaijani authorities often argue that they live in a tough
neighborhood—sandwiched between Russia and Iran and with an unresolved
conflict with Armenia—and that this should excuse them for their
behavior. Geopolitics, however, shouldn’t shield Azerbaijan from
criticism for treating its citizens and Western organizations as
criminals.

It’s time, therefore, for the United States to apply a law modeled on
the 2012 Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law and Accountability Act to
authorities in Baku. A number of Azerbaijani activists have called for
such measures. Given the reported assets the Aliyev family and its
circle hold overseas, freezing their assets and denying them access and
travel to the West might just do the trick. The State Department should
also issue a travel warning to American citizens alerting them of the
surveillance, harassment, and possible detention they might face in
Azerbaijan.

At a time when Vladimir Putin is continuing Russia’s aggression
against Ukraine, some will argue that, for geopolitical reasons, this is
not the time for the United States to get tough on Azerbaijan. There is
never a good time to take such steps, but the situation inside
Azerbaijan demands a response now. Further Western expressions of
“concern” or characterizations of the situation as “unacceptable” would
sound increasingly hollow. The Aliyev regime must understand that there
are consequences for its abuses.

David J. Kramer and Richard Kauzlarich

Published on October 2, 2014

«The American Interest»

Remarks by the President at Clinton Global Initiative New York, New York

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, all of you. I was just discussing with
President Clinton that if Chelsea begins delivery while I’m speaking,
she has my motorcade and will be able to navigate traffic. (Laughter.)
Because actually, it’s pretty smooth for me during the week. I don’t
know what the problem is. Everybody hypes the traffic, but I haven’t
noticed. (Laughter.)

Always wonderful to follow Matt Damon. (Laughter.) I saw people
trickling out after he was done. (Laughter and applause.) These are the
hardcore policy people who decided to stay for me. (Laughter.)

I want to thank President Clinton for your friendship and your
leadership, and bringing us together as only he can. Bill first asked me
come to CGI when I was a senator — and as President, I’ve been proud
to come back every year. As President, Bill asked Americans to serve
their country — and we recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of
AmeriCorps on the South Lawn. And Bill asked all of you to make
commitments to better our world — and together you’ve touched the lives
of hundreds of millions of people. And it’s a testimony, I think, to
any leader, not just for what they themselves do, but the degree to
which they’re able to inspire action from others. And by that measure,
obviously Bill Clinton has continued to exert extraordinary global
leadership for decades and I suspect for decades more to come.
(Applause.)

Now, in agreeing to come I had an ask, as well. I think one of the
best decisions I ever made as President was to ask Hillary Clinton to
serve as our nation’s Secretary of State. (Applause.) She just welcomed
me backstage. I’ll always be grateful for her extraordinary leadership
representing our nation around the world. And I still have a lot of
debt to pay, though, because the two of them were separated far too
often. Hillary put in a lot of miles during her tenure as Secretary of
State. She has the post-administration glow right now. (Laughter.) She
looks much more rested. (Laughter.)

So it’s wonderful to be back at CGI. I cannot imagine a more fitting
audience with whom to discuss the work that brings me here today — and
that is our obligation as free peoples, as free nations, to stand with
the courageous citizens and brave civil society groups who are working
for equality and opportunity and justice and human dignity all over
the world.

I’m especially pleased that we’re joined today by our many partners
in this work — governments, civil society groups, including faith
leaders, and men and women from around the world who devote their lives
and, at times, risk their lives to lifting up their communities, and
strengthening their nations, and claiming universal rights on behalf of
their fellow citizens. And we’re honored by the presence of these
individuals.

As we do every time this year, Presidents and Prime Ministers
converge on this great city to advance important work. But as leaders,
we are not the most important people here today. It is the civil
society leaders who, in many ways, are going to have the more lasting
impact, because as the saying goes, the most important title is not
president or prime minister; the most important title is citizen.

It is citizens — ordinary men and women, determined to forge their
own future — who throughout history have sparked all the great change
and progress. It was citizens here in America who worked to abolish
slavery, who marched for women’s rights and workers’ rights and civil
rights. They are the reason I can stand here today as President of the
United States. It’s citizens who, right now, are standing up for the
freedom that is their God-given right.

And I’ve seen it myself, in the advocates and activists that I’ve met
all over the world. I’ve seen it in the courage of Berta Soler, the
leader of Cuba’s Ladies in White who endure harassment and arrest in
order to win freedom for their loved ones and for the Cuban people. I’ve
seen it in the determination of Russians in Moscow and St. Petersburg
who speak up for rule of law and human rights. I’ve seen it the passion
of advocates in Senegal who nurture their democracy, and young
Africans across the continent who are helping to marshal in Africa’s
rise. I’ve seen it the hope of young Palestinians in Ramallah, who
dream of building their future in a free and independent state. I see
it in the perseverance of men and women in Burma who are striving to
build a democracy against the odds. These citizens remind us why civil
society is so essential. When people are free to speak their minds and
hold their leaders accountable, governments are more responsive and
more effective. When entrepreneurs are free to create and develop new
ideas, then economies are more innovative, and attract more trade and
investment, and ultimately become more prosperous. When communities,
including minorities, are free to live and pray and love as they choose;
when nations uphold the rights of all their people — including,
perhaps especially, women and girls — then those countries are more
likely to thrive. If you want strong, successful countries, you need
strong, vibrant civil societies. When citizens are free to organize and
work together across borders to make our communities healthier, our
environment cleaner, and our world safer, that’s when real change comes.

And we see this spirit in the new commitments you’re making here at
CGI to help the people of West Africa in their fight against Ebola.

We’ve also seen this spirit in another cause — the global campaign
against anti-personnel landmines. Tireless advocates like Jody Williams
fought for the Ottawa Convention; leaders like Patrick Leahy have led
the charge in Washington. Twenty years ago, President Clinton stood at
the United Nations and pledged that the United States would work toward
the elimination of these landmines, and earlier today, we announced
that we will take another important step. Outside of the unique
circumstances of the Korean Peninsula — where we have a longstanding
commitment to the defense of our ally South Korea — the United States
will not use anti-personnel landmines. (Applause.)

So we will begin destroying our stockpiles not required for the
defense of South Korea. And we’re going to continue to work to find
ways that would allow us to ultimately comply fully and accede to the
Ottawa Convention. And the United States will continue to lead as the
world’s largest donor of global demining efforts, freeing communities
and countries from these weapons.

The point is this started in civil society. That’s what prompted
action by President Clinton and by myself. And promoting civil society
that can surface issues and push leadership is not just in keeping with
our values, it’s not charity. It’s in our national interests.
Countries that respect human rights — including freedom of association
— happen to be our closest partners. That is not an accident.
Conversely, when these rights are suppressed, it fuels grievances and a
sense of injustice that over time can fuel instability or extremism.
So I believe America’s support for civil society is a matter of
national security.

It is precisely because citizens and civil society can be so powerful
— their ability to harness technology and connect and mobilize at
this moment so unprecedented — that more and more governments are
doing everything in their power to silence them.

From Russia to China to Venezuela, you are seeing relentless
crackdowns, vilifying legitimate dissent as subversive. In places like
Azerbaijan, laws make it incredibly difficult for NGOs even to operate.
From Hungary to Egypt, endless regulations and overt intimidation
increasingly target civil society. And around the world, brave men and
women who dare raise their voices are harassed and attacked and even
killed.

So today, we honor those who have given their lives. Among them, in
Cameroon, Eric Lembembe; in Libya, Salwa Bugaighis; in Cambodia, Chut
Wutty; in Russia, Natalia Estemirova. We stand in solidarity with those
who are detained at this very moment. In Venezuela, Leopoldo Lopez; in
Burundi, Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa; in Egypt, Ahmed Maher; in China, Liu
Xiaobo; and now Ilham Tohti; in Vietnam, Father Ly. And so many others.
They deserve to be free. They ought to be released.

This growing crackdown on civil society is a campaign to undermine
the very idea of democracy. And what’s needed is an even stronger
campaign to defend democracy.

Since I took office, the United States has continued to lead the way,
and as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton helped champion our
efforts. Across the globe, no country does more to strengthen civil
society than America. And one year ago, here in New York, I pledged
that the United States would do even more, and I challenged the world
to join us in this cause. Working with many of you, that’s what we’ve
done. And today I’m proud to announce a series of new steps.

First, partnering and protecting civil society groups around the
world is now a mission across the U.S. government. So under a new
presidential memorandum that I’m issuing today, federal departments and
agencies will consult and partner more regularly with civil society
groups. They will oppose attempts by foreign governments to dictate the
nature of our assistance to civil society. (Applause.) And they will
oppose efforts by foreign governments to restrict freedoms of peaceful
assembly and association and expression. So this is not just a matter
of the State Department, or USAID. It’s across the government — this
is part of American leadership.

Second, we’re creating new innovation centers to empower civil
society groups around the world. And I want to thank our partners in
this effort, including the government of Sweden and the Aga Khan
Development Network. Starting next year, civil society groups will be
able to use these centers to network and access knowledge and
technology and funding that they need to put their ideas into action.
And we’ll start with six centers in Latin America, in Sub-Saharan
Africa, in the Middle East and in Asia. Oppressive governments are
sharing “worst practices” to weaken civil society. We’re going to help
you share the “best practices” to stay strong and vibrant.

Number three, we’re expanding our support and funding for the
Community of Democracies to better coordinate the diplomacy and
pressure that we bring to bear. And this means more support for those
who are fighting against the laws that restrict civil society. In
recent years, we’ve worked together to prevent new limits on civil
society from Kenya to Cambodia. And we’ve helped expand the space for
civil society in countries from Honduras to Tunisia to Burma. And
standing together, we can do even more.

And finally, we’re increasing our support to society groups across
the board. We’re going to increase our emergency assistance to
embattled NGOs. We’ll do more to match groups with the donors and
funding that they need. And in the coming months, our Treasury
Department will finalize regulations so it’s even easier and less
costly for your foundations to make grants overseas. (Applause.)

We’ll increase our legal assistance and technical support to those
pushing back against onerous laws and regulations. And through our Open
Government Partnership, we’ll help more governments truly partner with
civil society. We’ll continue to stand up for a free and open Internet,
so individuals can access information and make up their own minds
about the issues that their countries confront.

And through our programs to engage young leaders around the world,
we’re helping to build the next generation of civil society leaders. And
our message to those young people is simple: America stands with you.

We stand with educators like Walid Ali of Kenya. Where’s Walid? I
just had a chance to meet him. There he is. (Applause.) In his village
near the border of Somalia, young people without jobs are tempted by
drugs. They’re recruited by terrorists. So Walid offers them
counseling, and business classes, and small plots of farmland —
helping them rebuild their own lives and their communities and giving
them options for the future. He strives, he says, not just for the idea
of democracy, but to “cement the practice of democracy.” So we thank
you, Walid, for your extraordinary efforts, and we stand with you.
(Applause.)

We stand with humanitarians like Miriam Canales. Where is Miriam?
There she is right there. (Applause.) In communities that are wracked
at times by horrific violence, children are so terrified to walk the
streets that many begin that dangerous and often deadly march north. And
Miriam’s outreach centers give them a safe place to play and grow and
learn. And she says her dream is “that people in Honduras can walk
free” and that young people will have “opportunities in their own
country.” We couldn’t be prouder of you, Miriam, and we stand with you.
(Applause.)

We stand with activists like Sopheap Chak, of Cambodia. Where’s —
there she is, Sopheap. (Applause.) Sopheap saw a fellow human rights
advocate hauled off by the police, and she could have fled, too, but she
says she’s never thought of leaving Cambodia even for minute. So she
keeps organizing and marching and mobilizing youth to demand justice.
And she says: “I dream that Cambodian citizens can enjoy the freedoms
that they are entitled to.” We could not be prouder of you, and we stand
with you. (Applause.)

And we stand with advocates like John Gad of Egypt. Where’s John?
(Applause.) Like all Egyptians, John has lived through the turmoil of
recent years. As an artist, he uses his poetry and performances to help
people “discover the power inside them,” which is as good a description
of being an organizer as anything — and being a leader. And he’s been
working to help women and girls recover from violence and sexual
assault. He’s focused, he says, on “how to teach Egyptians to accept
each other.” And he has said that “we have rights that we can achieve in
a peaceful way.” John is the future. That’s why we stand with him.
(Applause.)

Now, these individuals are just a small sample, they’re just an
example of the extraordinary drive and courage and commitment of people
that oftentimes are outside of the headlines. People don’t do stories
on them. When they’re endangered or harassed, it usually doesn’t
surface in the news. But they are those who are pushing the boulder up
the hill to make sure that the world is a little bit of a better place.

And we live in a complicated world. We’ve got imperfect choices. The
reality is sometimes, for instance, for the sake of our national
security, the United States works with governments that do not fully
respect the universal rights of their citizens. These are choices that
I, as President, constantly have to make. And I will never apologize for
doing everything in my power to protect the safety and security of the
American people. That is my first and primary job. (Applause.) But
that does not mean that human rights can be simply sacrificed for the
sake of expediency.

So although it is uncomfortable, although it sometimes causes
friction, the United States will not stop speaking out for the human
rights of all people, and pushing governments to uphold those rights
and freedoms. We will not stop doing that, because that’s part of who
we are, and that’s part of what we stand for. (Applause.)

And when governments engage in tactics against citizens and civil
society, hoping nobody will notice, it is our job to shine a spotlight
on that abuse. And when individuals like the one I introduced are being
held down, it’s our job to help lift them back up. When they try to
wall you off from the world, we want to connect you with each other.
When your governments may try to pass oppressive laws, we’ll try to
oppose them. When they try to cut off your funding, we’re going to try
to give you a lifeline. And when they try to silence you, we want to
amplify your voice.

And if, amid all the restrictions, and all the pressure, and all the
harassment, and all the fear, if they try to tell you that the world
does not care and that your friends have forsaken you, do not ever
believe it. Because you are not alone. You are never alone. (Applause.)
Your fellow advocates stand with you, and your communities stand with
you. Your friends around the world stand with you. The United States of
America stands with you, and its President stands with you.

No matter how dark the hour, we remember those words of Dr. King:
“The time is always ripe to do right.” And Dr. King also said: “The arc
of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” The
reason we support civil society is because we have seen in this country
of ours that it does, in fact, bend toward justice. But it does not do
so on its own. It does so because there are hands of ordinary people
doing extraordinary things every single day and they pull that arc in
the direction of justice.

That’s why we have freedom in this country. That’s why I’m able to
stand before you here today. And that’s why we will stand with them
tomorrow.

//www.youtube.com/embed/zvdFk7MqrJU?rel=0

European Stability Initiative has nominated three Azerbaijani human
rights activists on the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize. Leyla
Yunus, Rasul Jafarov and Intigam Aliyev have been nominated for this
award for their contribution to the protection of human rights,
democracy and fundamental freedoms.

Press release of the European Stability Initiative, sent to the agency
Turan, lists the specific scope and merits of each candidate,
emphasizing that all three were repressed by the authorities of
Azerbaijan for the struggle against tyranny, corruption, suppression of
human rights in the country.

“By putting forward their candidates for Sakharov Prize, the European
Parliament sends a clear message to the authorities of Azerbaijan,”
stated in a press release.

* Sakharov Prize established in 1988 by the European Parliament’s
is awarded annually for achievements in the field of human rights,
democracy and the rule of law, protection of minority rights.

Decision on the winner will be decided by the end of the year.

On 5 September, Azerbaijaini president Ilham Aliyev addressed the Nato summit at the Celtic Manor golf resort in Newport, Wales.

It was an unspectacular speech from an unspectacular autocrat. As he often does, he talked about the amount of money Azerbaijan
was spending abroad, Azerbaijan’s rapid economic development,
Azerbaijan’s role as a bridge between east and west, and Azerbaijan’s
continuing dispute with Armenia.

The dispute between the two countries over the territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which has gone on pretty much since the break-up of
the Soviet Union, flared as recently as this summer, when fourteen
Azerbaijani troops were killed in clashes with their Armenian
counterparts. It was easy to miss this, considering events in other
parts of the former Soviet Union. As seems usual in international
conflict now, neither side made any gain and both sides claimed victory.

A few weeks after that skirmish, and just before his Nato address,
Aliyev met recently-elected president (formerly prime minister) Recep
Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
Aliyev is keen to build an alliance with Turkey, and clearly sees
common cause in a shared dislike of Armenia. After the meeting, the
Azerbaijani leader tweeted
that “Turkey has always pursued an open policy on the issue of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, has always stood by
Azerbaijan, stood by truth, justice and international law.” He went on:

This was interesting, in that Erdogan did not seem to mention any
discussion of the Armenian genocide in his press briefing after the
meeting. In fact, the Turkish president has been perceived as attempting
to soften the Turkish state’s hardline denial of the incidents of 1915,
when one million Armenians suffered deportation and death at the hands
of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey.

In April, on the 99th anniversary of the beginning of the ethnic
cleansing of Armenians, Erdogan released a statement saying: “Millions
of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives in the first
world war. Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences –
such as relocation – during the first world war should not prevent Turks
and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane
attitudes towards one another.”

The Justice and Development (AK) party leader went on to express
condolences to the descendants of people who had died “in the context of
the early 20th century”.

Now, this isn’t quite an apology; it’s barely even an apology at
upset caused. It’s closer to the “mistakes were made” formulation, which
is designed not so much to pass the buck as fire the buck into the
heart of the sun in the hope that no one will ever have to deal with it
again, particularly not the person whose buck it is in the first place.

But in the context of Turkey, where not long ago talking about the
Armenian genocide could get you killed, it’s as good as you’re going to
get for now.

So why would Aliyev raise the genocide issue this month? Perhaps he
is nervous that Turkey, a major ally in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, is
going soft on Armenia. This year’s detente between Turkey and Armenia
continued when Armenia’s foreign minister Eduard Nalbandian attended
Erdogan’s presidential inauguration at the end of August.

Nalbandian, in return, formally offered Erdogan an invitation to
Armenia’s genocide commemorations next year, repeating an invitation
first extended a few months ago by the country’s president Serzh
Sargsyan. Any newfound good relations between Armenia and Turkey would
severely weaken Azerbaijan’s territorial argument, or more accurately,
weaken its ability to make the argument forcefully in the international
arena. Turkey’s dispute with Armenia, after all, is mainly historic, and
Erdogan, having seemingly consolidated his own power base outside of
both the secular “deep state” and the Islamic Gülen movement to which
many assumed he owed his success, now has a free hand on shaping foreign
policy. Azerbaijan’s dispute with Armenia is current and, Aliyev hopes,
immediate.

And so Azerbaijan has chosen to try to reignite the issue for its own
ends. Meanwhile, in his own country, human rights abuses continue, with
reports last week that Leyla Yunus, Director of the Institute for Peace
and Democracy, was in ill health after prison beatings.

In spite of all this, Azerbaijan will continue to attempt to buy
respectability. Next June, Baku will hold the first “European Games”,
backed by the European Olympic Committee, featuring such irrelevancies
as three-a-side basketball and beach soccer. It is not exactly the real
thing, but then, post-Soviet Azerbaijan is a country built of facades;
facades of modernity and wealth and progress and “democracy”. Facades
that hide an underlying ugliness.

By Padraig Reidy / 18 September, 2014

This article was posted on Thursday 18 Sept 2014 at indexoncensorship.org

Disruption of the mission of the UN Subcommittee on Human Rights in
Azerbaijan will cause serious damage to the country’s image in the
international arena, according to human rights activists. “The regime
for 20 years, and especially during the last 10 years, shows a similar
disregard for the representatives of international organizations. Now
they are all frustrated and perform their duties in the UN
representatives” Turan was told by a member of the National Council of
Democratic Forces (NCDF), lawyer Namizad Safarov. Such defiance against
members of the United Nations will be consequences, and will be
reflected in the reports, he said. Ultimately, such a policy could lead
to sanctions against Azerbaijan, Safarov said. Condemned the failure of
the UN mission and the head of the Committee against Torture Elchin
Behbudov.

According to him, the mission of the UN Subcommittee on Human Rights
and the Committee against Torture of the Council of Europe have the
right to unimpeded access to all places of detention.

According to Behbudov, the current UN mission, freely visited a number
of police departments in Baku and regions, but in some institutions of
the Prison Service of Justice they have created obstacles.

He expressed regret that because of the unwarranted actions of officials, the country’s image damaged.

Behbudov also pointed out that the Committee against Torture was also not allowed in prisons.

“I’m not talking about regular monitoring, we were not allowed even to
check individual complaints. At the same time, without prior notice, we
visit police cells, prisons of the MNS, brig, and disciplinary
battalion, and the Ministry of Defense, and other places of detention, ”
said Behbudov.

On September 17 the UN Office in Baku reported that the mission of the
Sub-Committee against Torture to finish ahead of his visit to
Azerbaijan due to the obstacles created when visiting prisons.

TURAN