Azerbaijan: Vicious attack on government critics

• Just months before Azerbaijan is set to host COP29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Azerbaijani authorities have used politically motivated, fabricated criminal complaints to prosecute and imprison citizen activists, journalists and human rights defenders.
• The government arbitrarily enforces highly restrictive laws regulating nongovernmental organizations to limit their ability to register, access funding, or operate legally. Unregistered groups that continue their work do so on the margins of the law and at great personal risk.
• Azerbaijan should immediately and unconditionally release those wrongfully detained and end the crackdown, and the United Nations and countries participating in the climate conference should emphasize the importance of a prosperous and independent region Civil society implement ambitious climate protection measures.

(New York, October 8, 2024) – Azerbaijan is waging a brutal attack on government critics, independent groups and media, Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now said in a joint report released today. The crackdown has intensified just months before Azerbaijan hosts COP29, the United Nations climate conference that opens in Baku on November 11, 2024.

The 74-page report, “‘We are trying to remain invisible’: Azerbaijan’s escalating crackdown on critics and civil society,” documents the government’s concerted efforts to decimate civil society and silence its critics. Authorities have arrested dozens of people for politically motivated, fabricated crimes. They have also arbitrarily enforced repressive laws that marginalize independent groups and media outlets, making them more vulnerable to criminal retaliation. The groups documented 33 high-profile cases of prosecution, detention and harassment. They found that Azerbaijani authorities intentionally abused laws regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to deny registration and funding to certain groups and expose people associated with them to criminal charges.

“The Azerbaijani government’s disregard for civil liberties is putting independent groups and critical media on the path to extinction,” said Giorgi Gogia, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch. “This is not the image the government should project of itself on the eve of COP29. It is not too late for the government to improve its reputation by releasing jailed critics and immediately ending spurious accusations against civil society, but it must act now.”

Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now interviewed more than 40 Azerbaijani lawyers, relatives of prisoners, and staff and leaders of nongovernmental organizations. They reviewed rules and regulations related to NGOs in Azerbaijan, legal documents relevant to certain criminal cases, judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and other documents.

Authorities have aggressively targeted three of the independent online news platforms remaining in Azerbaijan, including Abzas Media and Toplum TV. They arrested and prosecuted at least twelve media professionals from these three platforms as well as several other people associated with them. Authorities searched and sealed offices of Abzas Media and Toplum TV and confiscated equipment. They have hacked social media accounts and blocked websites. They have also arrested reporters from other media outlets and leaders of several unregistered groups, as well as union activists and others who dared to criticize or protest against government policies.

Among those arrested and detained is veteran human rights defender Anar Mammadli, who in the weeks before his arrest co-founded a climate justice initiative aimed at advocating for civil liberties and environmental justice in Azerbaijan in the run-up to COP29. He is awaiting trial on flimsy smuggling charges.

In July 2023, authorities arrested a renowned economist and anti-corruption activist, Gubad Ibadoghlu, who specializes in, among other things, revenue transparency in the oil and gas sector. Dr. Ibadoghlu is currently under house arrest awaiting trial on false charges related to the production of counterfeit currencies and extremism. If convicted, he could face up to 17 years in prison.

The groups found that the Justice Department selectively applies legal provisions or ignores laws entirely to deregister certain groups and limit their ability to access funding or operate legally. While some groups and media outlets were forced to close, others were able to continue their legitimate work only on the sidelines of the law and at great personal risk. In 20 of the 33 cases documented in the report, individuals were charged with smuggling money into the country. Some also face a range of other criminal charges, including illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, document forgery and tax evasion.

It seemed clear that in many cases the authorities were prosecuting activists in retaliation for attempting to carry out their legitimate work in a context where regulations made it virtually impossible to act independently and subjected them to criminal prosecution exposed to persecution, the organizations said.

Under international law, the Azerbaijani government is obliged to protect the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. This includes the ability to form a legal entity to act jointly in an area of ​​mutual interest. The European Court of Human Rights has found in numerous rulings that the Azerbaijani government’s failure to register independent NGOs violates the right to freedom of association. In at least one of these cases, the court found that authorities restricted rights with the “ulterior motive” of punishing applicants for their human rights activities.

The government should immediately ensure that independent groups can carry out their legitimate work unhindered, including by repealing repressive laws regulating independent groups and the media, the groups said. The government should also immediately and unconditionally release all those behind bars on politically motivated charges.

Ahead of COP29, Member States and the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should emphasize to the Azerbaijani authorities the importance of a thriving and independent civil society in implementing ambitious climate action. They should emphasize that all individuals and groups should be free to demand and question climate action before, during and after the conference.

“Through a combination of unjustified detention and restrictive NGO rules, the Azerbaijani government is attempting to eradicate civil society,” said Andrea Prasow, executive director of Freedom Now. “At this critical time before COP29, States and UN officials should urge Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release arbitrarily detained activists and commit to upholding human rights at COP29 and beyond.”