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BAKU: Azeri pressure group condemns media campaign against rightsact

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  • BAKU: Azeri pressure group condemns media campaign against rightsact

    Azeri pressure group condemns media campaign against rights activist

    Turan news agency, Baku
    12 Jun 04

    Baku, 12 June: The federation of Azerbaijani human rights organizations
    has condemned the Azerbaijani authorities for continuing the policy of
    persecution against rights champions. The "authorities-controlled"
    media and NGOs have recently launched a campaign against the
    Azerbaijani coordinator of the international working group for
    releasing POWs and hostages and for tracing missing persons, Avaz
    Hasanov. The reason for the campaign was his trip to Nagornyy Karabakh.

    Hasanov is being threatened and false reports are being circulated
    about his Armenian captivity and recruitment by the Armenians. The
    pro-government media is quoting Hasanov's telephone conversations
    with his colleagues. They are telephoning him at home and threatening
    him. On 10 June a group of young people burst into Hasanov's office
    and threatened him with murder both verbally and in writing.

    This smear campaign has been arranged and is being performed by those
    who earlier organized attacks on other rights champions - E. [Eldar]
    Zeynalov, Z. [Zaliha] Tahirova and L. [Leyla] Yunus. The statement
    said that the campaign was launched under orders from "certain circles
    in the Azerbaijani government".

    The aim of the campaign is to paralyse human rights activities and
    bring them under the monopoly of "patriotic" organizations. All this
    is happening while the country's official circles are continuing to
    speak to the Armenians and participate in joint projects and events.

    The federation of Azerbaijani human rights organizations condemns
    the campaign against Avaz Hasanov and calls on political parties, the
    media, NGOs and state officials not to be involved in "the propaganda
    show by the irresponsible circles", the statement said.
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