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Eurovision 2012 Winner Concerned about Photo-Journalist Mehman
Huseynov's Fate
BAKU. June 17, 2012. The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012
held in Baku this may, Swedish singer Loreen, has expressed concern
about the fate of photojournalist Mehman Huseynov, against whom the
Azerbaijani authorities brought charges of disorderly conduct against
the police.
On her Facebook page, she wrote: "After our meetings with Azeri human
rights defenders in Baku we hoped that the situation for them would
improve. But now we see the opposite. One of the brave human rights
defenders that we met, Mehman Huseynov, is accused of hooliganism and
risks five years in jail! Mehman is a young photojournalist and he was
just doing this job covering a demonstration for freedom during the
Eurovision week in Baku."
Loreen was one of the few celebrities who supported the campaign "Sing
in the name of democracy," which was organized by the Azerbaijani
champions of free speech and human rights during the contest. She was
the only performer to have visited the Institute for Reporters'
Freedom and Safety in Baku, where she gave a press conference on the
themes raised by the campaign of "Sing in the name of democracy."
In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, she said that she could not turn
a blind eye to human rights violations. Loreen's meetings with human
rights defenders caused serious irritation in the upper echelons of
power in Baku. On the day of the semi-finals the representative of the
President of Azerbaijan demanded that the contest organizer, European
Broadcasting Union should stop some artists from "politicizing" the
show. The matter was so notorious that the Swedish Ambassador was
forced to visit the Foreign Ministry to discuss the situation.
At the press conference of the finalists the singer made it clear that
she separates her private life, in which she has the right to show a
civic position, and her work, including the competition in Baku.
Loreen posted on Facebook links to the statements of international
human rights organizations about Mehman Huseynov, thereby inviting her
fans to pay attention to the fate of the photojournalist:
http://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/news/statements/azeri-photographer-freed-but-still-risks-prison/
http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/18210.html
http://www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/azerbaijan
(Turan)
Huseynov's Fate
BAKU. June 17, 2012. The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012
held in Baku this may, Swedish singer Loreen, has expressed concern
about the fate of photojournalist Mehman Huseynov, against whom the
Azerbaijani authorities brought charges of disorderly conduct against
the police.
On her Facebook page, she wrote: "After our meetings with Azeri human
rights defenders in Baku we hoped that the situation for them would
improve. But now we see the opposite. One of the brave human rights
defenders that we met, Mehman Huseynov, is accused of hooliganism and
risks five years in jail! Mehman is a young photojournalist and he was
just doing this job covering a demonstration for freedom during the
Eurovision week in Baku."
Loreen was one of the few celebrities who supported the campaign "Sing
in the name of democracy," which was organized by the Azerbaijani
champions of free speech and human rights during the contest. She was
the only performer to have visited the Institute for Reporters'
Freedom and Safety in Baku, where she gave a press conference on the
themes raised by the campaign of "Sing in the name of democracy."
In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, she said that she could not turn
a blind eye to human rights violations. Loreen's meetings with human
rights defenders caused serious irritation in the upper echelons of
power in Baku. On the day of the semi-finals the representative of the
President of Azerbaijan demanded that the contest organizer, European
Broadcasting Union should stop some artists from "politicizing" the
show. The matter was so notorious that the Swedish Ambassador was
forced to visit the Foreign Ministry to discuss the situation.
At the press conference of the finalists the singer made it clear that
she separates her private life, in which she has the right to show a
civic position, and her work, including the competition in Baku.
Loreen posted on Facebook links to the statements of international
human rights organizations about Mehman Huseynov, thereby inviting her
fans to pay attention to the fate of the photojournalist:
http://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/news/statements/azeri-photographer-freed-but-still-risks-prison/
http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/18210.html
http://www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/azerbaijan
(Turan)