News from AzeriReport.

On April 19, the U.S. State Department released its “Country Reports On Human Rights Practices” for 2012, highlighting crackdowns on civil society, struggles for democratic change, and threats to freedom of expression. The section of the report on Azerbaijan says Azerbaijan’s most significant human rights problems included restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly and the unfair administration of justice.

It also cites the intimidation, arrest, and use of force against journalists as well as human rights and democracy activists.

The document says the government approved three demonstrations in the spring but limited them to a location far from the center of Baku.

It says other applications for political protests were denied, unsanctioned protests were forcefully dispersed, and demonstrators often detained.

The report mentions continued reports of arbitrary arrest and detention, politically motivated imprisonment, and allegations of torture and abuse in police or military custody that resulted in at least four deaths.

It says impunity among officials remains a problem.

The Azerbaijani government responded to the U.S. State Department’s report with a statement from Ali Hasanov, chief of the Public Political Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan. In an interview to local APA News Agency, Ali Hasanov said: “Speaking specifically about the U.S. State Department’s report, I would like to note that the United States of America is our strategic partner… Therefore we have quite a normal attitude towards State Department’s interest to the human rights situation in Azerbaijan being reflected in its reports. However, the subjective character of the report, non-disclosure of the sources of the information, distortion of some of the facts, and more importantly, not inquiring into the position of the official government institutions of Azerbaijan to those issues, provide an ample basis to question the objectiveness of that report.”

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