US Representative Chris Smith (Republican-New Jersey) has introduced a legislation that would deny US visas to senior Azerbaijani officials due to what he calls Baku’s “appalling human rights violations.”

The US lawmaker introduced the bill, titled the Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015, in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

“The human rights situation has seriously deteriorated in Azerbaijan, causing damage to its relations with the United States and other countries, and has damaged its own society by imprisoning or exiling some of its best and brightest citizens,” Smith told a hearing of Congress’s Helsinki Commission held in conjunction with the announcement of the legislation. “The time has come to send a clear message.”

The hearing was dedicated to the case of Azerbaijani investigative journalist and RFE/RL contributor Khadija Ismayilova.

Ismayilova’s imprisonment in Azerbaijan has been denounced by Western officials and international rights advocates.

In a statement issued by the commission, which is chaired by Smith, the lawmaker said “the United States can no longer remain blind to the appalling human rights violations that are taking place in Azerbaijan.”

The bill comes as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s government faces increased criticism about rights abuses.

It is noted that Baku authorities have jailed several journalists and rights activists during the past year on charges like tax evasion, illegal business activity, and hooliganism.

The legislation would deny entry to – and revoke current US visas held by – individuals “in the senior leadership of the government of Azerbaijan,” as well as members of their “immediate family.”

Individuals who derive “significant financial benefit” due to their ties to senior officials, as well as security, law enforcement, and judicial officials involved in “persecution or harassment” of journalists, activists, and opposition or religious groups would also face these sanctions.

An exception would be made for Azerbaijani officials entering the United States to take part in negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, and related to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington D.C. did not comment on the legislation, and calls to the embassy went unanswered.