Increased government restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, although authorities allowed some peaceful opposition rallies were registered in Azerbaijan, says Report on Human Rights Practices in 2014 issued by State Department.

Restrictions included intimidation, incarceration on questionable charges and use of force against human rights defenders, civil society activists, and journalists. Authorities employed legislation, intense pressure, and other measures to narrow further the operating space for activists and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

According to the report, the Government use of the judicial system to punish peaceful dissent--including increased reports of arbitrary arrest and detention, politically motivated imprisonment, lack of due process, and lengthy pretrial detention--by secular and religious individuals perceived as a threat by government officials, while crimes against such individuals or their family members went unpunished.

Other reported human rights problems included physical abuse in the military; torture or other abuse in prisons; harsh and sometimes life-threatening prison conditions; and detentions for several days without warrants or incommunicado.

There were reports of continued arbitrary government invasions of privacy, incarcerations of religious figures, and restrictions on the religious freedom of some unregistered Muslim and Christian groups. Authorities at times restricted freedom of movement, particularly for civil society figures under investigation. 

While the government asserted that there were no political prisoners, local and international NGOs reported such cases. NGOs' estimates of the number of political prisoners ranged from 24 to 135 as of November 1.