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Human rights defenders / Statements / Sweden / 2015 / May

Sweden: Sport for Rights' Open Letter to the Swedish National Olympic Committee

NOC Sweden SFR
3 pages / 146 KB

Letter from the Sport for Rights Campaign, which OMCT is a member of, to the Swedish National Olympic Committee on Azerbaijan. 'Sport for Rights' campaign has been established to raise the problem of political prisoners in the context of the forthcoming international sporting events to be hosted by Azerbaijan.




Mr Stefan Lindeberg

President

Swedish Olympic Committee

Sofiatornet Olympiastadion

114 33 Stockholm

Sweden

21 May 2015

Dear Mr Lindeberg,

We are writing to you as part of the Sport for Rights campaign, a coalition of international organisations working to draw attention to the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in the context of next month’s European Games. As you know, the Azerbaijani authorities have been carrying out an unprecedented human rights crackdown, working aggressively to silence all forms of criticism and dissent.

We wanted to thank you for your comments on 30 April, in your interview to Aftonbladet newspaper, when you stated “It is difficult to keep sports and state governance apart, but for us sports is the core. We do not support Azerbaijan. It is a regime that is not living up to standards. But we stand behind the fundamental idea of sports, which is to keep doors open rather than to close them”. We also appreciated you expressing concern about reports on restrictions of press freedom in the country.

Your comments have come at a critical time, when too many officials connected to the European Games are all too willing to turn a blind eye towards human rights abuses in Azerbaijan, and in some cases, actively help the Azerbaijani government’s attempt to whitewash its image. We have been using your remarks as a positive example, encouraging representatives from other National Olympic Committees across Europe to publicly support human rights in Azerbaijan.

We are writing to you now with an additional request. As you may know, the crackdown has resulted in the arrests of dozens of political prisoners, including eight journalists and human rights defenders. They have been targeted for their work defending the rights of others, and telling the truth about the situation in their country. We urge you to take the opportunity now, in the last few weeks before the Games, to publicly call for the release of these individuals. We have provided a list as an appendix.

Thank you once again for your attention to our issues and your support for our jailed colleagues in Azerbaijan.

Sincerely yours,

(see pdf for signatories organisations)



APPENDIX: LIST OF JAILED JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

Jailed journalists:

  1. Nijat Aliyev – editor-in-chief of the website azadxeber.az, serving a 10-year prison sentence on spurious charges of drug possession and the illegal import and sale of religious literature.
  2. Araz Guliyev – editor of the website xeber44.com, serving an eight-year prison sentence on spurious charges of illegal possession of weapons, inciting hatred, and offensive action against the flag or emblem of Azerbaijan.
  3. Parviz Hashimli – Bizim Yol newspaper reporter and editor of the moderator.az website, serving an eight-year prison sentence on spurious charges of organising the sale of weapons from Iran.
  4. Seymur Hezi –Azadliq newspaper reporter and presenter of the Azerbaijan Hour satellite television programme, serving a five-year prison sentence on spurious hooliganism charges.
  5. Khadija Ismayilova – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist detained on spurious charges of embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, abuse of power, and inciting someone to attempt suicide.
  6. Hilal Mammadov – editor-in-chief of Tolishi Sedo newspaper, serving a five-year prison sentence on spurious charges of drug possession, treason, and inciting hatred.
  7. Rauf Mirkadirov – Zerkalo newspaper columnist, detained on spurious treason charges, awaiting trial.
  8. Tofig Yagublu – Yenu Musavat newspaper columnist, serving a five-year prison sentence on spurious charges of organising mass riots and using violence against police officers.

Jailed (and effectively jailed) human rights defenders:

  1. Intigam Aliyev – human rights lawyer and Chairman of the Legal Education Society, serving a 7.5-year prison sentence on spurious charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, and abuse of power.
  2. Emin Huseynov – Director of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, trapped at the Swiss Embassy in Baku, facing arrest on spurious charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, and abuse of power.
  3. Rasul Jafarov – Chairman of the Human Rights Club, serving a 6.5-year prison sentence on spurious charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, and abuse of power.
  4. Anar Mammadli – Chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre, serving a 5.5-year prison sentence on spurious charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, and abuse of power.
  5. Arif Yunus – historian and academic, detained on spurious charges of treason and fraud, awaiting trial.
  6. Leyla Yunus – Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, detained on spurious charges of treason, fraud, forgery, tax evasion, and illegal entrepreneurship, awaiting trial.

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Date: May 21, 2015
Activity: Human Rights Defenders
Type: Statements
Country: Sweden
Subjects: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, Human Rights Defenders, Justice system, Threats, intimidation and harassment

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