On May 12, one month before the commencement of the European Games in Baku, FIDH will be joining the Sport For Right Campaign, the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF), the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Front Line Defenders, and ILGA-Europe for a protest addressing the severe crackdown on human rights in Azerbaijan.
The protest, « Silencing the Critics : This is #RealBaku2015 » will place a spotlight on the repression against human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the European Games. Together, we will be calling for the release of Arif and Leyla Yunus, Khadija Ismayilova, Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev, Anar Mammadli and other imprisoned activisits.
Speakers at the event will include Dinara Yunus, activist and daughter of Arif and Leyla Yunus, along with Gerald Staberock, Secretary General of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), and Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator of Sport For Rights.
The protest will begin at 11:30 in front of the European Parliament at Place Luxembourg (1050 Ixelles, Brussels). It will be followed by a hearing in the European Parliament titled « Baku Games : Run for Human Rights » that will also be addressing human rights violations in the country and the release of political prisoners before the start of the European Games.
Please see the Facebook invitation and the fact-finding mission conducted by The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).
For additional information, please see:
The Sport for Rights campaign
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders articles concerning Azerbaijan
Joint open letter on the European Union position on Azerbaijan
Additional news and updates regarding Azerbaijan on the FIDH website