In reaction to Azerbaijan’s detention and prosecution of growing numbers of human rights defenders, many human rights NGOs, journalists, relatives of political prisoners and diplomats wrote a joint open statement regarding the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, based on which US-based NGOs sent a letter to the Secretary of State of the United States John Kerry, asking the United States to impose a visa ban and freeze assets of Azerbaijani officials involved in large-scale human rights abuses, and take other substantive steps to press the Azerbaijan government to respect fundamental human rights.

“For years, Azerbaijan’s importance as an energy supplier and partner on security and counter-terrorism has outweighed attention to its deplorable human rights record,” the letter says. “The growing repression during the past year, however, has now made such an approach especially untenable. With parliamentary elections scheduled for later this year, we fear the situation will only get worse unless the West takes decisive action.”