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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Eurovision Contest Draws Attention To Alleged Human Rights Abuses in Azerbaijan

(AP)

Eurovision, the annual song competition held by the European Broadcasting Union, gets underway this coming weekend.

600 million people from around the world are expected to watch the contest which this year is taking place in the oil rich, country Azerbaijan.

And that means human rights groups will also be watching and calling on the organizers of the event to ensure that the Azerbaijan government stops imprisoning its opposition, beating journalists and destroying homes in the name of development.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say Azerbaijan now has one of the worst records in Europe when it comes to freedom of speech. Even musicians have been attacked for speaking out against the president. The BBC’s Daniel Sandford reports from the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

Other stories from Wednesday's show

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Abdullah

    Mən Azərbaycanlıyam və buna görə and içə bilərəm ki Azərbaycan dövləti xalqına zül edir. Vəssalam

  • Pushok Pushochek

    «Even musicians have been attacked for speaking out against the president» - Firstly, they were not attacked, but made answerable for outrage which they did not only against the President.
    Peculiarity of Azerbaijani opposition activists is that they are inclined to abuse everybody who is not agree with them beginning from the President ending with common citizens…If the western human rights organizations think that insulting people for their political ideas is quite acceptable norm, then I’ve doubts about their objectivity.

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