Azerbaijan Again Busy with Its Favorite Job

• 06.02.2016, 19:41
•  Region,  World

hayastannews.com

Azerbaijani civil activist Yalcin Gahramanoghlun, who has been living in Kiev for several years and is the local representative of the National Council of Democratic Forces of Azerbaijan, was arrested in Baku airport. As contact.az reports, the reasons for the arrest are not reported.

Azerbaijani authorities have recently resumed arrests of civil activists and dissidents: So, recently Azerbaijani authorities arrested Samir Hasanov, head of the youth wing of the regional branch of the opposition party National Front in Sheki. Earlier young activist of movement NIDA Amid Mukhtarov  and photographer Elnur Suleymanov were sentenced to administrative detention. As in previous cases nothing is reported about the reasons for their arrest.

Last week Azerbaijani authorities released the country's number one political prisoner, journalist Khadija Ismayelovayin, whose arrest caused large international response. This aroused some hopes among both Azerbaijani people and the international community, that the country will return to the democratic path. In this context, the recent arrests of civil society activists can be viewed as a signal to the internal community that the recent demonstrations of good will were staged solely for the West, who was regularly putting pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities because of political prisoners.

Now Baku is making its people understand that there can't be any illusions about freedom of speech and other democratic values, and arbitrary arrests and prosecutions are a proven and an effective way to do it and make human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents silent.

Azerbaijani authorities only forget that as a result of such policy of intimidation and arrests the country has become the "favorite" of the international human rights organizations.