Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia: pressure on human rights defenders intensifies

The human rights situation in some post-Soviet countries continues to deteriorate. It is particularly noticeable in Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Viasna offers a selection of repressions against human rights defenders, independent media representatives and public activists in August.

Azerbaijan: "Abzas Media Case", persecution of Anar Mammadli and new political prisoners

New charges against those arrested in the "Abzas Media case"

On August 22, Baku City Khatai District Court extended the pre-trial detention of Anar Mammadli, head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Education Center and human rights activist, for another three months.

The extension of his pre-trial detention was justified by waiting for responses to relevant requests from the Investigative Committee. According to Mammadli's lawyer, the defense requested that the preventive measure be changed to house arrest. However, the court did not grant the defense's request and extended Mammadli's arrest until November 27. The court also extended the detention of another defendant in the case - the head of the meclis.info platform Imran Aliyev for another 3 months.

Anar Mammadli was arrested on April 29. The human rights defender is accused in the "Abzas Media case". He is the eighth person detained in this case. The human rights defender himself has denied the charges, describing them as groundless and a political order.

Four others arrested in the "Abzas Media case" have been charged with new, more serious charges. They now face up to 12 years in prison. On August 19 the director of the independent online publication Ulvi Hasanly, editor-in-chief Sevindzh Vagifgizi, Abzas Media journalist Elnara Gasimova and investigative journalist Hafiz Babala were charged with seven more serious counts.

Amnesty International calls for prevention of extradition of journalist Afgan Sadigov from Georgia to Azerbaijan

Commenting on the arrest of Azerbaijani journalist and editor-in-chief of Azel.TV Afgan Sadygov and his detention in Georgia's deportation prison, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheev, said: "The Georgian authorities should immediately cease attempts to extradite Afgan Sadygov in accordance with their obligations under international law and grant him and his wife international protection if they apply for it".

Afgan Sadygov has been living in Georgia since December 2023. In May 2020, Sadygov was sentenced to seven years in prison on politically motivated charges of "extortion". He was pardoned in May 2023, but continued to face threats and harassment from the authorities and left his home country.

Recently, Afgan Sadygov's family asked foreign diplomats for asylum, writes Caucasian Knot.

Human Rights Activists Announce New List of Political Prisoners

The Union "For Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan" (FPPA) announced a new list of political prisoners, which includes 303 people. There are 17 new names on the list. In particular, they are human rights activist Anar Mammadli, head of the meclis.info online platform Imran Aliyev, economist Farid Mehralizadeh, members of the Popular Front Party Sahib Mammadzade and Mehman Aliyev, public activists Elshan Kerimov, Lachin Veliyev and 9 other believers. The list was compiled by former prisoners of conscience - Leyla Yunus, Director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, and Elshan Hasanov, Head of the Monitoring Center for Political Prisoners.

Russia: Persecuted for anti-war stance

On August 19, four people were added to the list of political prisoners in Russia: Andrei Kulievich, Nikolai Lagutin, Valentin Khoroshaev and Daniil Reshetnichenko. The opponents of the occupation of Crimea were sentenced to 7.5 years in high security prison on a trumped-up charge of preparing a terrorist attack.

Now there are 770 people on the list.

During Putin's rule, Russian human rights activists assigned the status of "political prisoner" to 1,500 people, "Verstka" calculated with the support of "Memorial". In the first years of Vladimir Putin's rule, the number of political prisoners in Russia did not exceed one or two people a year.

Sentence of a Russian Svoboda journalist who wrote about human rights violations has come into force

On July 22, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan found Alsu Kurmasheva, journalist  of the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Liberty, guilty of spreading so-called fakes about the Russian army and sentenced her to six and a half years in a penal colony.

The journalist was accused of distributing the book "Saying No to War: 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Invasion of Ukraine".

Alsu Kurmasheva has been a permanent resident of Prague since 1998. Last May, she came to her hometown Kazan to visit her sick mother, where she was arrested on October 18.

Administrative case opened against human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina

On August 14, Deputy Basmanny Interdistrict Prosecutor Yevgeny Ponomarev issued a decision to open an administrative case against human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina. Ponomarev considered that Gannushkina had committed an administrative offense by failing to disclose the fact of her "foreign agency" in her correspondence with human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova.

Amnesty International calls for the release of sick Crimean human rights activist

Tofik Abdulgaziev, a human rights activist from Crimea sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on politically motivated charges in Russia, was hospitalized in critical condition in March 2024. He has lost 15 kg and has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, pneumonia and other life-threatening illnesses. He must be released immediately.

The human rights defender is serving his sentence in Verkhneuralsk Prison in the Chelyabinsk region.

Georgia: Authorities plan to ban all opposition forces

Pro-government party Georgian Dream plans to ban all opposition forces

The human rights situation in Georgia has worsened since the adoption of the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" on June 3 and the violent suppression of mass protests by the authorities. Media and non-gogernmental organizations now face fines and the seizure of accounts if they refuse to register as foreign agents.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze confirmed that the ruling Georgian Dream party plans to ban all opposition forces that run against it in the upcoming elections.

The reason for this is that "in reality, all these entities represent one political force - a collective national movement .... and they can jointly serve a criminal cause".

Another activist beaten by unknown assailants in Tbilisi

The Georgian authorities should immediately investigate attacks on government critics, Amnesty International urged, in response to the brutal attack by unknown assailants on civic activist Zuka Berdzenishvili in Georgia, just hours after the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament accused him in a social media post of taking part in an "organized and politically motivated campaign of terror".

Amnesty International emphasized: "After dozens of similar violent incidents, the attack on Zuka Berdenishvili just hours after the Speaker of Parliament personally described him as a threat to the government is of grave concern. Such statements by officials can easily be interpreted as a green light for impunity for violence against government critics".