The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders

The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders condemns the recent interrogation of human rights defenders and last week arrests of youth activists and bloggers in Azerbaijan. We call upon the authorities to stop the repression of the civil society, and immediately release the five detained youth activists. We also urge the Azerbaijani authorities to respect freedom of expression and assembly of the people in Azerbaijan. We see the recent escalation of pressure by the Azerbaijani authorities as a reaction to the calls for pro-democracy protests in the country, inspired by the events in the Middle East and North Africa.