United States criticize the situation with human rights in Azerbaijan

The Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour of the US Department of State has published its annual report on the status with human rights and democracy in the world. The chapter on Azerbaijan runs that support of human rights there remains bad and has aggravated in certain areas.

In 2007, tortures and beatings of people by policemen and militaries resulted in death of 4 persons - nobody was punished. Custody conditions remain heavy and live-threatening. Administrative arrests of opponents to the authorities are everyday phenomena. The government convicts citizens on political grounds, while the law enforcement bodies and the judiciary are overtaken by corruption. Restrictions of the freedom of assemblies persist. In 2007, media freedom and political activity constraints became stronger, the document states.

The Azerbaijani government, however, would disagree with the US criticism. "I can't agree with the criticism in relation to human rights in Azerbaijan, it's based on singularities that may be found in any country of the world," said Elnur Aslanov, head of the division for political analysis and information support of the machinery of the President of Azerbaijan.

"Within the recent years, we've made a number of important steps in development of the civil society in Azerbaijan, and we're strengthening the importance and role of the 'third sector' in the social life of the country. All the conditions are in place for development of mass media; they count more than 600 already. Civil rights and freedoms are in the govt's priority vector," Mr Aslanov has added.