Official Baku has declared 76 members of PACE as "persona non grata"
Tensions between Azerbaijan and Europe
Amid rising tensions between Azerbaijan and Europe, official Baku announced that it will not allow entry to European parliamentarians who voted against the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE.
Additionally, a representative of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the EU’s calls for the release of political prisoners, including young political analyst Bahruz Samadov, who was arrested on charges of treason: “Calls for Azerbaijan to release the accused directly contradict legal procedures, represent an attempt to interfere with the judiciary, and go against the values promoted by the European Union.“
Azerbaijani expert Haji Namazov believes that the revocation of Azerbaijan’s mandate in PACE is not related to human rights violations in the country.
“European structures have started to equate the rights of Armenians who voluntarily left Karabakh and detained separatists and war criminals in this region of Azerbaijan with the rights of journalists and activists who are unfavorable to the government,” he says.
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76 votes against Azerbaijan – 76 personas non grata
Deputies who voted against the Azerbaijani delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have been declared personas non grata in Azerbaijan. They will not be allowed to enter the country until the Azerbaijani delegation’s mandate in PACE is reinstated.
This was announced by Aykhan Hajizade, head of the press service of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to comments made by PACE member and German Bundestag deputy Frank Schwabe in an interview with Radio Liberty.
Schwabe stated that Azerbaijan is not interested in Council of Europe membership, as the country “does not respect the values” of the organization.
He also pointed out that Azerbaijan did not invite PACE observers to monitor the elections for the Milli Majlis this year.
PACE observers were also not invited to the early presidential elections held on February 7, 2024.
Schwabe, however, expressed his intention to visit Azerbaijan for COP29.
Hajizade called Schwabe’s remarks “biased” and “false.”
“Frank Schwabe is well aware that the only reason PACE representatives were not invited to observe the Milli Majlis elections is that the Azerbaijani delegation’s mandate has not yet been reinstated, despite promises made to our country at the political level, including by German officials,” Hajizade emphasized.
Regarding Schwabe’s desire to visit Azerbaijan for COP29, Hajizade noted that those who voted against the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE have been placed on the list of personas non grata.
EU сalls for the release of Bahruz Samadov
Before the mandate of our delegation to PACE is restored, the individuals in question will not be allowed to enter Azerbaijan,” emphasized Hajizade.
On January 24, 2024, PACE did not approve the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation for a one-year term due to “the country’s failure to fulfill its primary obligations” to the Council of Europe and not inviting PACE observers to the extraordinary presidential elections.
The decision was supported by 76 deputies, with 10 voting against and 4 abstaining.
The European Union called for the release of Bahruz Samadov. A day earlier, a debate arose between the European Union and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry.
The EU urged Azerbaijan to respect the rights of the young political analyst Bahruz Samadov, who was arrested on charges of treason on August 23.
Peter Stano, the spokesperson for the European Union on foreign policy and security issues, stated in an interview with Politico that “independent journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society representatives have been arrested in Azerbaijan since last year,” and called for their release.
“Brussels is watching with concern the case of Bahruz Samadov, a young scholar advocating for peace in the South Caucasus and a doctoral student at Charles University in Prague,” Stano said.
Azerbaijan responds to EU criticism
Aykhan Hajizade, the spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to Peter Stano’s statement by rejecting claims that any citizen in Azerbaijan is persecuted for political beliefs or ideas, labeling such accusations as fundamentally wrong and unacceptable.
Hajizade emphasized that cases involving individuals detained under criminal investigations—such as treason, illegal financing of certain activities, and unlawful financial operations—are handled in accordance with relevant criminal procedural laws, and the process is fully transparent.
“Instead of waiting for the results of criminal cases, investigations, and court rulings, calls for Azerbaijan to release the accused directly contradict legal procedures, amount to interference in the judiciary, and go against the values promoted by the European Union. Regrettably, the violation of fundamental rights and freedoms in several EU member states, where political prisoners die in jails due to persecution, and where bloody crackdowns occur during protests like the ‘Yellow Vests’ in New Caledonia, is a clear example of double standards. EU institutions should end their provocations against Azerbaijan,” Hajizade’s statement concluded.
Tensions between Azerbaijan and Europe
Expert: “The West took the wrong approach”
The Azerbaijan’s JAMnews sought commentary from political analyst Haji Namazov on the recent exchange of statements between European structures and Azerbaijan.
Namazov pointed out that this exchange of harsh words between European institutions and official Baku is neither the first nor likely the last.
“Delving into the reasons for this escalation, it becomes clear that Europe is not entirely blameless in this situation. The arrests of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil activists in Azerbaijan did not start in the fall of 2023.
Yet, for some reason, European institutions only began to speak out against these actions after Baku restored its sovereignty over the entire internationally recognized territory of the country. It seems the West started playing a double game.
Even those not well-versed in politics can see that the revocation of Azerbaijan’s delegation mandate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is not directly linked to human rights violations in the country. There wasn’t even a hint of this concern from Council of Europe deputies previously.
European statements have begun to equate the rights of Armenians who voluntarily left Karabakh and the rights of those detained in this region of Azerbaijan—separatists and war criminals—with the rights of journalists and activists who have fallen out of favor with the government.
In short, the West approached this from the wrong angle. It is essential to defend the violated rights of arrested journalists, human rights defenders, and activists, but what does that have to do with people who, for 30 years, engaged in armed struggle against the central government, were responsible for the ethnically motivated killings of thousands, and displaced more than half a million Karabakh residents from their homes?
With their poorly thought-out statements, European politicians handed a clear advantage to official Baku, which the Azerbaijani government is now using at every opportunity,” Namazov concluded.
Tensions between Azerbaijan and Europe
