US Secretary of State Blinken taking a picture with the award given to him next to Rufat Safarov’s empty seat
Arrest of US prize awarded Rufat Safarov
On December 3, the executive director of the “Defense Line” human rights organization, human rights defender Rufat Safarov, was detained by law enforcement officers. [1]
He is charged under Articles 221.1 (hooliganism), 178.3.2 (fraud causing significant damage), and 127.2.3 (causing minor harm to health intentionally) of the Criminal Code, and a 4-month detention measure has been chosen against him regarding these charges.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has reported that a conflict occurred between Rufat Safarov and another person regarding land sales, and his detention is related to this.
Safarov dismissed the allegations as fabricated and nonsensical, stating that he was arrested to prevent his activities in the field of human rights, his recognition as a recipient of the “Human Rights Defender Award” by the U.S. Secretary of State, and his participation in the award ceremony.
On the occasion of International Human Rights Day on December 10, the Secretary of State’s Human Rights Defender Awards were presented to well-known human rights defenders from several countries at the U.S. Department of State.[2]
One of the winners is Rufat Safarov, an Azerbaijani human rights defender and co-founder of the “Defense Line” organization. A week ago, shortly after leaving a meeting at the U.S. embassy in Baku to obtain a visa for this event, Rufat Safarov was detained and a preventive measure of arrest was chosen against him. The fact that his seat reserved for award winners on stage was empty has drawn attention.
At the end of the photo ceremony, which was followed by applause, Antony Blinken reached into the empty seat dedicated to Rufat Safarov and took a commemorative picture with his prize.
[1] https://turan.az/en/politics/human-rights-defender-rufat-safarov-detained-787745
[2] https://turan.az/az/siyaset/blinken-rufet-seferovu-insan-huquqlari-sahesinde-ali-mukafatla-teltif-edib-ve-azerbaycani-haqsiz-yere-saxlanilanlari-azad-etmeye-cagirib
Follow the link to read the statement in more detail.
