Rights groups, Western governments urge Azerbaijan to release human rights defender
"The arrest of Rufat Safarov on trumped-up fraud and hooliganism charges is another glaring example of the Azerbaijani authorities' relentless efforts to silence dissenting voices in the country," Amnesty International said in a Wednesday statement.
Safarov, a former prosecutor who heads the Defense Line human rights organization, was detained Tuesday and charged with fraud and hooliganism. He has been put on four months of pretrial detention.
Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs told VOA that Safarov's detention was related to a conflict between him and an individual over a land purchase.
However, in a statement on social media written at his request, Safarov attributed his detention to being nominated for a human rights award in the United States.
"I was supposed to travel to the United States in two days because I had been recognized as the 'Human Rights Defender of the Year,' " the statement reads. "From the outset, I express my deep gratitude to U.S. Ambassador Mr. [Mark] Libby, for nominating me, and to U.S. Secretary of State Mr. [Antony] Blinken for supporting my candidacy."
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has confirmed that Safarov was due to meet with several senators next week to receive the State Department's Human Rights Defender Award.
"But the Azeri regime jailed him on bogus charges," Cardin wrote on X. "His fight for justice transcends prison walls. He must be released immediately."
Libby called on the Azerbaijani government to release all those unjustly imprisoned and to abide by its international human rights obligations.
The ambassador spoke Thursday at an event organized in the capital, Baku, which was also attended by the ambassadors of Britain, the European Union and Switzerland, as well as Azerbaijani human rights defenders, members of the civil society and public activists.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denounced criticism by the ambassadors, calling their comments an interference with the country's judicial system.
"We strongly reject the claims of the ambassadors of the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and the European Union regarding the detention of 'journalists' and 'political activists' in Azerbaijan. These statements are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of the Azerbaijani judicial system," the ministry said in a statement.
Rapporteurs at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have called Safarov's arrest another example of a growing crackdown on human rights defenders and activists in Azerbaijan.
"This alarming development is part of an ongoing pattern of repressing critical voices and targeting those speaking up to defend fundamental freedoms and democratic values," Thorhildur Sunna Aevarsdottir and Emanuelis Zingeris said in a statement.
The head of the opposition Musavat Party, Isa Gambar, condemned Safarov's arrest and called the charges against him politically motivated.
"It aims to both hamper and halt his activities, and to once again threaten the society by using him. This is unacceptable," he told VOA, calling on authorities to release Safarov and all other political prisoners.
Azer Gasimli, head of Azerbaijan’s Institute of Political Management, believes there are only a handful of human rights defenders left in Azerbaijan who are not behind bars.
"The government has declared a war on the nation, on its active and enlightened part. On the one hand, it drowns people with social problems, tramples on their rights. And on the other hand, it tries to destroy dignified members of the society. I know, without doubt, that sooner or later, the people will win in this fight," he told VOA.
Bahruz Maharramov, a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament, told VOA that Safarov's detention and criminal prosecution are being carried out in compliance with all the procedural requirements and in accordance with the law.
"A person's position, beliefs, affiliation with political or other public associations, or being a social media phenomenon cannot exempt them from legal responsibility," Maharramov said.
Safarov resigned from the Zardab District Prosecutor's Office in 2015 after accusing the Azerbaijani authorities of human rights violations and lawlessness. He was subsequently arrested on charges of accepting bribes, which he denied, and was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2016. He was later pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and released in 2019.
This story originated in VOA's Azerbaijani Service.