Azerbaijani rights defenders stand up for feminists

Authorities should not have used force against feminist rally in Baku, since the female activists did not violate public order and observed sanitary norms, Namizad Safarov, the coordinator of the Centre against Repressions and Torture. In Azerbaijan, all the attempts to hold non-sanctioned peaceful actions run up against law enforcers' tough measures, said Anar Mamedli, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Elections and Democracy Education. Authorities fear to weaken the regime so as not to provoke the protest activity, said Emin Guseinov, the director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Security (IRFS).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 8, in Baku, the police dispersed a march of feminists, who had come out to protest against gender inequality and crimes against women on the basis of everyday life.

Authorities had no right to refuse activists to sanction the action, said Khafiz Gasanov, the head of the NGO "Centre for Law and Development". "They had to propose an alternative route for the manifestation," he said.

Namizad Safarov believes that freedom of assembly had been restricted in Azerbaijan before, while the pandemic has become an excuse to ban even small street marches.

Mr Safarov is sure that there were no grounds for refusing to sanction the feminist rally. The march of a small group of women could not present any inconvenience for others. The police, having built a tight cordon, had caused more inconvenience to citizens.