"Freedom House" calls on guests of "Formula 1" in Baku not to forget about repressions in Azerbaijan

Foreign visitors who intend to visit the events of the "Formula 1" Grand Prix in Baku should pay attention to the human rights problems in Azerbaijan. This was declared by the human rights organization "Freedom House". According to the organization, in Azerbaijan, more than 80 people were subjected to wrongful arrests.

"The Azerbaijani government, which suppresses the fundamental freedoms of citizens and silences opposition voices, seeks to use sports activities such as 'Formula 1' to show itself as a modern and humane power," stated Daniel Calingaert, Vice-President at the "Freedom House" as quoted by the website of the organization.

The "Freedom House" uses the racing events to attract international attention to the problems of human rights. This opinion was voiced by Elshan Gasanov, an Azerbaijani human rights defender, the leader of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners.

According to him, in the past two months, in Azerbaijan, more than 20 political prisoners have been released, and "the persistent position of the Western organizations played an important role in the above fact."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.