This atricle originally appeared on Huffington Post UK
As we head towards one more Eurovision final, will a spotlight also be shone onto the serious human rights abuses in Azerbaijan, this year’s host? Or will the Azerbaijani government succeed in burnishing their image and hiding the reality of violence, repression and an increasingly hostile environment for journalists, bloggers, academics, activists and others? (more…)
This letter appeared in the Financial Times, 23/05/12
For all of us who support and defend freedom of expression and a free press, it is encouraging indeed to see that the ability of governments with bad or dubious human rights records to whitewash their image and promote their international profile through hosting big sports, arts and music events is on the decline. (more…)
The whereabouts of two Azerbaijani writers remains unknown, after they were allegedly kidnapped in Iran. Farid Huseyn and Shahriyar Hajizade were reportedly set upon by eight men in civilian dress as their bus arrived from Tehran into Tabriz, in northwestern Iran on 2 May. Huseyn, from news website 525 and daily newspaper Kaspiy, and Hajizade, who writes about youth issues on social networks, visited Tehran for the presentation of an Iranian edition of Huseyn’s writings. It is believed the pair are being held by Iranian security forces, though no information has been provided by the authorities.
A 24-year-old Azerbaijani musician who says he was tortured by police after he insulted the country’s president during a concert has fled to Germany over concerns for his safety. Jamal Ali had criticised President Ilham Aliyev and his late mother during the concert in Baku in March, and was charged with hooliganism after an argument with the concert’s organisers. He and two other musicians were sentenced to 10 days’ detention, during which time Ali claims he was tortured. His escape comes just days before the Eurovision song contest, due to be held in the former Soviet country on 26 May.