Human Rights Watch: Human rights problems persist in Azerbaijan in  2023

ArmInfo. Long-term human rights concerns persisted in Azerbaijan in 2023. The government severely restricted freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. This is stated in the report of the Human Rights Watch  as part of its review of the human rights situation in the world in the Azerbaijan section. 

The report's authors note that despite some progress on a notorious  torture case, torture and ill-treatment in police custody and places  of detention persisted.

"The May presidential pardon included a handful of people whose  convictions were believed to be politically motivated, yet dozens  remained wrongfully imprisoned.  Authorities sentenced numerous  critics to 30-day detention terms, following perfunctory misdemeanor  trials, and arrested two civic activists, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev and Gubad  Ibadoghlu, who face long prison terms. The authorities' violent  crushing of two separate grassroots protests over environmental  issues highlighted their intolerance for public expression of  legitimate concerns as well as public frustration with the  government's failure to protect the environment. The prosecutor's  office closed criminal investigations against several NGOs targeted  in 2014. Investigations against others appear to have remained open.  Restrictive laws impeded civil society groups from operating  independently and accessing funding."

In the Nagorno-Karabakh section, the report's authors in particular,  note:"On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a military operation to  regain full control over Nagorno-Karabakh.  Nagorno-Karabakh forces  surrendered after one day of fighting. More than 100,000 ethnic  Armenians-nearly the entire Armenian population of the area-fled to  Armenia.  The military operation followed months of acute shortages  of food, medication, hygiene products, and other essential supplies  to the area due to Azerbaijan's disruption of vehicular and  pedestrian traffic between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh that started  in December 2022. Starting in mid-June, Azerbaijan blocked all  humanitarian goods transport and periodically blocked International  Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) patient transports. Azerbaijan also  cut power and gas lines, causing regular, daily blackouts.

 Even before the military operation in September, military skirmishes  had periodically broken out in other areas along the  Armenia-Azerbaijan border and in Nagorno- Karabakh, threatening the  safety and livelihoods of civilians residing in those areas.   Azerbaijan refused to implement February and July interim measure  decisions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling on  Azerbaijan to ensure "unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and  cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions." 

Following the September military operation, Azerbaijan arrested  several leaders of the de facto authorities, charging them with,  inter alia, financing terrorism, establishing illegal armed  formations, and illegal border crossing. A historic December 2023  joint statement between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaderships on  steps to normalize relations announced Azerbaijan's intention to  release "32 Armenian servicemen" and Armenia's intention to release  "2 Azerbaijani military servicemen." Governments and  intergovernmental organizations expressed alarm about the  humanitarian situation. In an October resolution, the European  Parliament called on Azerbaijan to "allow the safe return of the  Armenian population" and "offer solid guarantees regarding the  protection of their rights" and also called for the establishment of  an international monitoring mission under UN auspices. In an October  joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council, 34 countries called  on Azerbaijan to "promptly create conditions for the voluntary, safe,  dignified and sustainable return" of ethnic Armenians and provide for  international monitoring of the situation.

It is also emphasized that the Azerbaijani authorities arrested at  least nine civic activists who criticized online the September 19  military operation in Karabakh.  "Following the September military  operation, Azerbaijan arrested several leaders of the de facto  authorities, charging them with, inter alia, financing terrorism,  establishing illegal armed formations, and illegal border crossing."