The U.S. State Department urged Azerbaijan on July 20 to avoid using the pandemic to silence “civil society advocacy. The statement came in the Fact Sheet released by the State Department assessing the Human Rights in the Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“The US State Department has urged authorities to ensure that actions taken in response to COVID-19 are not used to silence civil society advocacy, opposition voices, or public discussion.  Azerbaijani authorities have harassed and arrested — and in one case institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital — opposition members and others who have criticized the government,” the statement said.