In recent years, the government of Azerbaijan has undertaken a systematic crackdown on journalists, media outlets, and independent activists. The coalition campaigns for the protection of human rights in Azerbaijan and calls on international sporting organizations to press for better human rights safeguards in countries hosting major sporting events. Sport for Rights is a coalition of international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, working to draw attention to the dramatic human rights situation in Azerbaijan. “If it remains silent, Formula One risks condoning the government’s efforts to benefit from the prestige of international events, while silencing domestic critics, without consequences.” “Formula One leadership has a crucial opportunity to press the Azerbaijani government to make concrete steps to improve its human rights record ahead of the Baku Grand Prix,” said Jane Buchanan, associate director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch. The Azerbaijani government has sought to host a number of high-profile sports and other events in recent years, including the inaugural European Games in 2015, while cracking down on human rights activists and critical journalists, as event organizers stayed silent. (London) – The Formula One Group leadership should urge the Azerbaijani government to release unjustly imprisoned activists and journalists ahead of the European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, said the Sport for Rights coalition today.Īzerbaijan will host its first Formula One European Grand Prix race on June 17-19, 2016 in the capital, Baku.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |