(Berlin)—In a month’s time, on June 12, Baku, the capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan, will be putting on another glitzy show for international visitors. Three years ago it was the Eurovision Song Contest, now it’s the European Games, an Olympics-style multi-sport event for which Baku was the only bidder.
Many German and international media outlets are, rightly, reporting about the games in the context of Azerbaijan’s terrible human rights record. The Economist recently described Azerbaijan as a “brutal regime” that would organize the games on the principle of “Smile, spend big and suppress dissent.”
This is embarrassing for Baku, but it is likely to be concerted international pressure that will lead to Baku releasing those held in prison on politically motivated charges and ending its human rights crackdown. Germany has a vital role to play. The government could exert its influence more effectively and the German Olympic Committee (DOSB) could build on its public expression of concern about human rights in Azerbaijan.
When Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president, in January in Berlin, she raised human rights and reminded Aliyev of Azerbaijan’s human rights obligations as a Council of Europe member. Aliyev was dismissive: “all forms of freedom are protected in Azerbaijan” he claimed.
The reality could not be more different -- for dozens of human rights defenders and political and civil activists, as well as journalists, jailed on politically motivated charges; for independent media outlets that have been shut down; and for many independent non-governmental groups that can no longer operate.
Over the last year many of the country’s other leading independent voices have been imprisoned, forced to flee the country or go into hiding. Among them, Rasul Jafarov, a prominent activist who has spoken frequently in Germany about human rights in his country, was this month sentenced to six and haIf years in jail on bogus tax-related charges.
German officials say they raise these concerns but given the Ukraine crisis and the pressure to diversify their energy supplies. They also point to the need to maintain good relations with Baku.
Germany has legitimate energy and geo-political interests. But these are hardly reasons to not take a firm, principled stand against the worst human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan in years.
Germany should, in public and in private, call for the release of activists and others held on politically motivated charges, and for the withdrawal of laws restricting nongovernmental groups and independent media. It should make clear these steps are a non-negotiable pre-condition for closer ties with the country.
Hugh Williamson is Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
