On the eve of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Baku, Bärbel Kofler, the German Federal Government’s Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, pointed to the inadequate human rights situation in Azerbaijan, reported Deutsche Welle (DW).

Still in many cases, civil rights as well as freedom of media, assembly, and speech are curtailed in this country, Kofler said, in particular.

And Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Azerbaijan is of interest to Germany primarily as an energy supplier.