Source: European Parliament
The EU has repeatedly voiced its concerns regarding the intensification of repression against civil society, political opponents, and independent media in Azerbaijan.
In this context, the EU continues to raise the case of Dr Ibadoghlu, both in direct contacts with the authorities and in public statements, urging the authorities to lift his travel ban in order for him to obtain the urgent medical attention he requires abroad[1].
Moreover, the EU Delegation in Azerbaijan and the EU Special Representative for Human Rights have repeatedly raised his case with the Azerbaijani authorities. The EU Delegation is also in direct contact with Dr Ibadoghlu and his lawyers, and regularly attends the court hearings in his case.
Moreover, on the occasion of his official visit to Azerbaijan in October 2024, the Commissioner for Climate Action met Dr Ibadoghlu.
The EU Delegation also facilitated the organisation of a meeting between Dr Ibadoghlu and the European Parliament Delegation, which visited Baku in November 2024 during the United Nations Climate Change Conference ‘COP29’.
The EU’s relation with Azerbaijan is based on a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement that entered into effect in 1999[2]. The EU engagement with Azerbaijan remains instrumental in order to address human rights issues and to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the South Caucasus through regional cooperation, including in the context of the normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
- [1] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/azerbaijan-statement-spokesperson-human-rights-situation_en; https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-10-2024-10-22-ITM-020_EN.html; https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-10-2024-12-18-ITM-019-03_EN.html
- [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/1999/614/oj/eng