"Azerbaijan: Thirty Days of Shame" Summary — Day 1 through Day 7 Freedom of Expression

Editor’s Note: On February 22, 2013, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) launched “Azerbaijan: Thirty Days of Shame“, a campaign aimed at informing and educating Canadians about Azerbaijan’s flagrant and consistent abuses of human rights. On each day during the thirty days, the ANCC will post one article, video, or human rights report highlighting Azerbaijan’s continuing disrespect for human rights and its ruling regime’s efforts to gloss over its gross violations with slick propaganda, political bullying, and misinformation.

Montreal — Freedom of expression, a universal human right, was the focus of Day 1 through Day 7 of the ANCC’s “Azerbaijan: Thirty Days of Shame” campaign. The authoritarian and repressive regime of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev continues to stifle this basic human right with great vigour. Azerbaijan’s most recent example of its policy to suppress freedom of expression is its harsh treatment of Azerbaijani author Akram Aylisli, and his family, for expressing his views in a novella about his views on Azerbaijani and Armenian relations. What makes this example particularly abhorrent is that the Azerbaijani government actively allowed book burnings and intimidation. Most abhorrent of all was the government allowing a political party to issue a bounty of $13,000 for someone to cut off the ear of the author.

Here is a summary of the articles, video, and human rights reports from Day 1 through Day 7:

Day 1: Reuters – Azeri party offers bounty for ear of author

Day 2: Human Rights Watch – Azerbaijan: Stop Harassing Author

Day 3: BBC Panorama – Eurovision’s Dirty Secret Azerbaijan (video)

Day 4: Thomas de Waal Op-Ed – Azerbaijan: Speed Without System

Day 5: United Nations – Not Safe in Her Own Home (video)

Day 6: Article 19 – Azerbaijan: The international community must ask for the release of prisoners targeted for exercising their right to freedom of expression and association

Day 7: Amnesty International – Freedoms Suppressed in Azerbaijan (video)

Details of the Armenian National Committee of Canada’s “Azerbaijan: Thirty Days of Shame” campaign:

When:  One posting every day at 10:00am EST starting on Friday, February 22, 2013 until Saturday, March 23, 2013.

Where: ANCC website “Azerbaijan: Thirty Days of Shame” campaign page — http://www.ashodd4.sg-host.com/thirty-days-of-shame

              ANCC Facebook page — www.facebook.com/ArmenianNationalCommitteeofCanada

              ANCC Twitter page — www.twitter.com/ancc_cnac

For further information:

Mr. R. Robert Kouyoumdjian

Tel.: (514) 265-4602

Email: [email protected]

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