Amnesty International has
called
on the public to take urgent action in support of conscripted NIDA activist Ulvi Hasanli.
In September 2017, Ulvi Hasanli was
exempted
from military service until 2019 due to kidney stones. In October 2017, the decision was suddenly reversed and Hasanli was sent directly from a medical examination to a military base at the line of contact in Karabakh without a chance to say goodbye to his family.
“Amnesty International believes he is being targeted because of his peaceful activism,” the statement reads.
Hasanli is a member of the NIDA Civic Movement, an organization promoting democratic change in Azerbaijan. “Over the last five years,” Amnesty International points out, “at least 14 NIDA activists have been imprisoned on a range of trumped-up charges, most of which related to arms and drug possession.”
The call to action asks the public to contact the Azerbaijani Minister of Defence, Zakir Hasanov, and the Chief of the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription, Arzu Rahimov, by 22 March. Participants are asked to write in support of Hasanli’s exemption from military service and to end the politically motivated harassment of activists in Azerbaijan.
The statement includes contact information for both Zakir Hasanov and Arzu Rahimov:
Minister of Defence
Colonel General Hasanov Zakir Asgar Oghlu
3 Parliament Avenue
Baku AZ1073, Azerbaijan
Email:
mninfo@asumo.baku.az
Salutation:
Dear Minister
Chief of the State Service for Mobilisation and Conscription
Arzu Rahimov
30 Zarifa Aliyeva Street, AZ-1000
Baku, Azerbaijan
Fax:
+994 12 493 1535
Email:
info@seferberlik.gov.az
Salutation:
Dear Lieutenant-General
