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EU parliament slams crackdown on dissent in COP29 host Azerbaijan
EU parliament slams crackdown on dissent in COP29 host Azerbaijan
by AFP Staff Writers
Strasbourg, France (AFP) Oct 24, 2024

The European Parliament on Thursday denounced Azerbaijan's crackdown on critical voices, saying it was "incompatible" with its hosting of the upcoming COP29 United Nations climate summit.

EU lawmakers also called on the 27-member European Union to cut down on gas imports from the tightly controlled, energy-rich Caspian nation over rights abuses there.

"Azerbaijan's ongoing human rights abuses are incompatible with its hosting of the climate conference," the EU parliament said.

Ruled with an iron fist by President Ilham Aliyev since 2003, Azerbaijan is accused of stifling dissent by persecuting political opponents, detaining activists and suffocating independent media.

But rights groups say the clampdown has intensified as the country prepares to host COP29 in the capital, Baku, in November.

In a non-binding resolution adopted by 453 votes in favour, 31 against and 89 abstentions, EU lawmakers urged the 27-nation bloc's leaders to use the climate summit to pressure Baku on its poor rights record.

"Parliament also calls on the government in Baku to cease all forms of repression in and beyond Azerbaijan, release all persons arbitrarily detained and drop all politically motivated charges," the parliament said in a statement.

The EU should also suspend a 2022 deal on closer energy cooperation and end its "dependency on gas exports from Azerbaijan", it said.

Europe has been looking to Baku as a key energy partner, drastically increasing gas purchases, since it cut gas imports from Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Separately, the president of the parliamentary, Roberta Metsola, expressed concern over the health of jailed Azerbaijani activist Gubad Ibadoghlu.

"Ibadoghlu's health condition is currently deteriorating significantly," Metsola told parliament, calling on authorities to "drop all charges" against the anti-corruption campaigner.

On Thursday, Ibadoghlu, who is under house arrest on charges of financial crimes he denies, missed out on the EU's top rights award, the Sakharov prize, for which he was a leading contender.

The award went to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

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