Most countries chairing the Council of Europe  which prides itself as the continent’s guardian of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, use their time at the helm to tout their democratic credentials. Azerbaijan will go down in history as the country that carried out an unprecedented crackdown on human rights defenders during its chairmanship, Commissioner for Human Rights  Nils Muižnieks said in a statement.

In his statement posted on Facebook,  Nils Muižnieks told about political prisoners whom he visited during his recent trip to Azerbaijan. Among them Leyla Yunus,  Intigam Aliyev, Anar Mammadli,  Rasul Jafarov

“While most of my partners are in detention, others discontinued their human rights work, left the country over the summer, or went into hiding as the crackdown spread,” the Commissioner said.

“These are just some of the activists and journalists languishing in prison or under pressure in Azerbaijan. They are core partners for the Council of Europe – they have all attended roundtables for human rights defenders organised by my Office or participated in events organised by the Parliamentary Assembly. The Council of Europe’s primary friends and partners in the country have almost all been targeted. While this pains me deeply, it also makes practical cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe extremely difficult. The reprisals must stop. Now”.