Azerbaijan's authorities refuse AI's delegation in entering country

The international human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) was forced to cancel its planned visit to Azerbaijan after the authorities at the last moment refused to let the delegation enter Baku. The purpose of the visit was to conduct the briefing in Baku on the theme "Azerbaijan: repressions against the background of the European Games."

In the late evening of June 9, the human rights defenders received a message from the Azerbaijani Embassy in London. The message states that "at present, Azerbaijan is not in a position to welcome the mission of the 'Amnesty International'", and the visit should be postponed until after the European Games. This has been reported by the AI's press release disseminated today.

"It is deeply ironic that the event has been cancelled now when the critical voices in the country are being systematically suppressed on the eve of the European Games. The country's authorities are desperately trying to create around the European Games the area free of criticism," the AI's press release quotes Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director of the "Amnesty International" in Europe and Central Asia, as stating.

The AI's statement mentions that during the past year in Azerbaijan, journalists, human rights defenders, and opposition and youth activists were subjected to persecution, arrests, and torture. The AI emphasizes that on the eve of the European Games, suppression of dissent has been only intensified.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.