ICC NOTE: Azerbaijan has cracked down on various opposition activists toward the presidents administration and his recent referendums. The president of Azerbaijan has already worked through an extension of his term limits while the next one looks to target the nations freedom to assemble based on what they consider to be “public order and morality”. Such language has been used in various central Asian countries to restrict the freedoms of religious minorities and others the governments consider to be a threat.
8/19/2016 Azerbaijan (Intellinews) – Azerbaijan’s authorities have arrested a number of activists in recent days, Oslo-based watchdog Human Rights House Network (HRHN) said on August 16 urging Baku to refrain from intimidating the opposition in the run up to a referendum that is expected to expand the president’s powers and set the stage for a dynastic presidency.
Along with extending the presidential term from five to seven years, proposed changes that will be voted at the referendum are related to restrictions in the right to freedom of assembly, which would be contingent on “public order and morality”; and the right to property, which could be restricted in the interests of “social justice and effective land use” HRHN said in a statement on its website.
“Everyone should be allowed to freely and safely express their opinion during a campaign – the right to participate in public life includes disagreeing with the government’s proposal,” Ane Bonde, HRHF’s Regional Manager for Eastern Europe and Caucasus. said. “A popular referendum, in particular, should be an opportunity for true public debate on the future of the State’s institutions. Instead, we fear that we are now seeing the beginning of a new wave in the crackdown on civil society and opposition in direct relation to the referendum.”
In the last two weeks, several activists, including Natig Jafarli, Elshan Gasimov, Togrul Ismayilov, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev and Elgiz Qahreman, were arrested. All of them have suffered from persecution at the hands of authorities on previous occasions. One of the leaders of the opposition Real movement, Jafarli was arrested on August 12 for criticising and campaigning against the referendum. A Baku court charged him with illegal business and abuse of official powers, which in Azerbaijan are standard charges against government critics.
