Azerbaijan may be excluded from the organization “The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative” (EITI) due to its treatment with human rights activists, said the Chairman of the organization and former British Secretary of state for International Development Clare Short, Financial Times reports. The organization expresses concern about the use of force by Azerbaijani authorities against human rights activists.

EITI, which includes state authority representatives, extractive companies, investors and oil-refining unions, stated that it has lowered the status of Azerbaijan to the level of state-candidate, which means that the country will be excluded if it doesn’t start improving the situation within 12 months.