The disproportionately harsh sentences handed down to Rasul Jafarov and Intigam Aliyev have shocked me greatly. I know both of them to be extremely committed and reliable representatives of Azerbaijani civil society. Unfortunately, these judgements are only the most recent attempt on the part of the Azerbaijani Government to silence systematically those voices that advocate more democracy and greater rule of law in Azerbaijan.

Rasul Jafarov has campaigned fearlessly for domestic policy reforms to be initiated at long last against the backdrop of cultural or sports events such as the upcoming European Games in Baku. Intigam Aliyev was one of the few remaining lawyers in Azerbaijan prepared to represent victims of arbitrary behaviour on the part of authorities and threatened representatives of civil society.

The Azerbaijani Government must cease its crackdown on civil society with immediate effect. As a first step, Rasul Jafarov and Intigam Aliyev should, at the very least, be granted access to fair appeal proceedings as their trials were marred by serious procedural irregularities from the point of view of all independent observers.

I hope that international attention during the upcoming European Games in Baku will also focus on the difficult human rights situation in Azerbaijan. All of those involved – politicians, sports associations and the media – should constantly be aware of the fact that this sports event is taking place in a heavily repressive political environment.