Azerbaijani authorities abuse the restrictions imposed in the fight against coronavirus and arrest opposition activists to shut up critics of the government, Turan reported referring to the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

At least six activists and an opposition journalist have been arrested for 10 to 30 days on trumped-up charges of violating quarantine or disobeying the police.

Almost all have been arrested after criticizing the conditions in quarantine centers or the inability of the government to provide adequate compensation to vulnerable groups.

Among those arrested, there was a man who was taking his child with a chronic illness to the hospital for treatment.

According to George Gogia, HRW deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, these arrests are fully consistent with the long-standing model of political retaliation in Azerbaijan.

The authorities should stop using the emergency as an excuse to punish freedom of expression, he added.

HRW believes that arresting people for violating the quarantine regime can increase the spread of the disease because the virus can spread in crowded places of detention. Both regional and national monitoring groups criticized prison conditions in Azerbaijan.

HRW believes the permission to leave the home system introduced in Azerbaijan unduly restricts movement and personal freedom.

Imprisonment as a sanction for violation of quarantine is counter-productive and contrary to the recommendations of experts from the UN and the Council of Europe.

Authorities must immediately cease the political application of restrictive measures and release those arrested, the HRW statement noted.