AI tells about law enforcers' lawlessness in countries of Southern Caucasus

Persecutions of activists in Azerbaijan, violations of defendants' rights in "Sasna Tsrer" case, and abuses of power by police in Georgia were noted by the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) in its report on the observance of human rights in the world.

In 2017, Azerbaijani authorities "intensified their attacks on the freedom of self-expression," says the AI's report. The persecution of Aziz Orudjev and the case of Mekhman Aliev, Director of the "Turan" News Agency, are presented as examples.

In its report, the AI also recalls the persecutions of the blogger Mekhman Guseinov, the journalist and blogger Afghan Sadygov, the editor of the website "Centre for Journalistic Investigations" Fikret Faramazoglu, and the journalist Afghan Mukhtarly.

Besides, the AI has treated the accusations against Elgiz Gakhramanov, an activist of the "Nida" youth movement, of drug dealing as fabricated.

The report mentions the case of Turkish citizen Mustafa Chabuk, detained after the Georgian authorities' refusal to grant asylum to him.

Besides, in 2017, "more than ten reports" were received from Georgia about deaths from accidents, in particular, at construction sites.