Court upholds activist Saadat Djakhangir's ban on leaving Azerbaijan

Saadat Djakhangir, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) and an employee of the "Azadlyg" newspaper, has lost her complaint about the ban on leaving the country.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in March, investigators forbade Saadat to leave Azerbaijan for medical treatment abroad, explaining that she was a witness in a criminal case. Such a ban is illegal, but in Azerbaijan it is used against oppositionists and critics of the authorities, a lawyer and a human rights defender have pointed out.

On May 1, 2020, law enforcers searched the apartment of Saadat Djakhangir, after which they interrogated her as a witness in a criminal case.

"The government is making use of the ban on leaving the country against its critics as a sort of punishment. And sometimes it is a real torture, as people can't go abroad to receive the needed high-quality medical treatment. Restricting the freedom of travel without due justification is against the Constitution," Ms Djakhangir has stated.

Namizad Safarov, the head of the Azerbaijani Committee against Repressions and Torture, has treated Djakhangir's ban on crossing the border "as totally unreasonable and illegal."

Bashir Suleimanly, the head of the Civil Rights Institute, believes that the travel ban is being used to punish journalists and activists who are undesirable to the authorities.

Let us remind you that the journalists, Sevindj Vagifgyzy and Khadidja Ismayilova, known for their investigations of corruption in the country, have also faced bans on leaving Azerbaijan.