Azerbaijan is the only Council of Europe (CoE) member where the majority of human rights activists are in prisons on made-up charges. 

The CoE Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, stated about the aforesaid in response to numerous questions posed by the Azerbaijan delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

After presenting his 2016 report, the CoE commissioner was asked accusatory questions by the Azerbaijani delegates.  

Even though the report was exclusively on human rights and it had no mention of Armenia, the Azerbaijani MPs used the word “Armenia” in each and every question they asked.  In response, however, Muižnieks said the human rights situation in Azerbaijan was quite serious.

And to the Azerbaijani delegates’ accusations of conspiracy with the “Armenian lobby,” the CoE commissioner responded that he was a participant in the “human rights lobby.”

For his part delegate from Spain Jordi Xucla also responded to Azerbaijanis’ comments.

“I take up the gauntlet thrown down by Mr Huseynov. He was brave to say that he was in favour of publishing reports. Let me take him at his word, because he is from Azerbaijan, one of the three Council of Europe countries that does not publish reports. This puts beyond doubt that there are members of parliament in Azerbaijan who wish to make changes. I thank him for what he says, and above all I invite him with all my heart to do all that is necessary to ensure that publication becomes possible in his country.”