Head of the Committee to defend the rights of Mahir Abdullayev, Azad Mursaliyev has started an open-ended hunger strike on January 22. Mursaliyev stressed that he has 3 demands: "My constitutional right to freedom of movement has been restricted. After the foundation of Independent Investigation Committee on Mahir Abdullayev's kidnapping in March of 2013, I was barred from leaving the country without any reason. Secondly, although ten year have passed since the kidnapping, investigation remains at a standstill. Thirdly, I demand an end to pressures and repressions against my family, me, and my cousin, Elshad Abdullayev's son Mubariz Abdulayev." The Human Rights Watch has released its next annual report "World Report 2014" on human rights situation in world countries, including Azerbaijan. The chapter of the report related to Azerbaijan states that the Azerbaijani government's poor record on freedom of expression, assembly, and association dramatically deteriorated during the year. It further reads that the Azerbaijani authorities used a range of spurious narcotics and weapons possession, hooliganism, incitement, and even treason charges in 2013 to prosecute at least 23 political activists, journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders critical of the government. "Human Rights Watch" urges the government to release them, and stop prosecuting people for political reasons. The Freedom House also issued its traditional annual report on the state of fundamental freedoms in world countries. Azerbaijan ranks among 48 non-free countries, as it was in the previous years. CIS countries like Russia, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Turkmenistan are non- free, while Georgia and Armenia are shown as partially free countries. In Azerbaijan, people's rights and freedoms were violated during the previous year, civil activists and government's opponents were persecuted and silenced. In particular, violations of property rights has increased. The Peace and Democracy Institute presented the list containing the names of 135 persons believed to be arrested for political reasons as of January, 2014. 38 of them are "prisoners of conscience" and 97 are political prisoners. 116 of those on the list have been convicted and 6 are still under investigation. Investigations of 12 prisoners are ongoing. Among them, targets of repression are: 11 journalists and bloggers, 3 human rights defenders, 2 politicians, 4 former officials, 61 believers (including 10 members of Said Dadashbayli group), 21 illegally sentenced lifers and others. Hilal Mammadov, who is serving his sentence in prison # 17, was subjected to violence. He was brought to the jail on January 23 from Kurdakhani pre-trial isolator. According to the Committee to defend rights of Hilal Mammadov, the journalist's money and medicines were forcibly seized and his hair was cut against his will. He was for some period deprived of drinking water. Mammadov was threatened with harsh treatment in case he demanded his rights. Mammadov's lawyers are preparing a lawsuit against the authorities of the mentioned prison. The editor-in-chief of "Tolyshi Sado" newspaper, Hilal Mammadov was sentenced to 5 years in jail on 25 September 2013 by the decision of Baku Court on Grave Crimes. Head of the "Akhyn" (Flow) Youth Movement and member of Civil Solidarity Party, Omar Mammadov was detained on January 24. The following day the court sentenced him to 3 month pretrial detention. The 19-year-old was arraigned with the Article 234.4.3 (illegal possession and trade of drugs) of the Criminal Code. He can be sentenced to 12 year imprisonment. Note that, Omar Mammadov was active on social networks and was one of the administrators of the satirical Facebook page of "AzTVden sechmeler" (https://www.facebook.com/pazaztv?fref=ts). The page contained satirical cartoons, photomontage, and comments about the authorities.

• published: 11 Feb 2014
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