Ahmad Shahidov’s speech at OSCE Vienna meeting angered US diplomats

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The freedoms of association and assembly were discussed at the meeting

OSCE’s next meeting was held in Vienna, Austria on April 16 with a focus on the freedoms of association and assembly in OSCE participating countries. In his speech B. Baer, United States Ambassador for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe stayed on Azerbaijan and harshly criticised official Baku for restricting freedom of peaceful assembly. He also touched on the arrests of NGO representatives, human rights advocates and journalists in the country.

Aftermath, Ahmad Shahidov, Head of the Azerbaijani Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (AIDHR)  took the floor and informed participants to the assembly on state of freedom of assembly in Azerbaijan and outcomes of monitoring conducted during the National Council of Azerbaijan’s recent protest.

In respond to the US Ambassador’s remarks, Ahmad Shahidov highlighted recent brutality of US policy to the black protestors, shooting them right in the street. He went on criticising Washington policy pursued under the umbrella of democratic values. He underscored that police in Azerbaijan never used rubber bullet during demonstrations, adding that world community turn blind eye to the police brutality, crackdown of protests in the US and European countries which means double standard.

Later on, B. Baer, United States Ambassador for the OSCE left the assembly without making any comments on Mr. Shahidov’s remarks.

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