Human rights abuses spark demands to boycott Eurovision in Azerbaijan

Calls are growing for an international boycott of this year's Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan over concerns about the country's poor human rights record and its clampdown on dissidents.

Khadija Ismayil, one of the country's few remaining investigative journalists, revealed last week that she had been the target of a blackmail attempt. Ismayil, who has been working on stories exposing dubious business deals in the oil-rich republic with connections to the ruling elite, has been called an "enemy of the state" by Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev.

"On 7 March I received a letter to my home address with threats and blackmail," she said.

"It includes some photos of an intimate nature and a threat. It says that if I don't stop working I will be hugely embarrassed. This threat is not a surprise; I've been doing investigative journalism for a long time.

"My investigation included the secret business of President Aliyev's family and documented the facts of corruption on the highest level, disclosed the offshore businesses of members of the ruling family."

Just days before, a peaceful demonstration in Baku, the capital, was broken up by the police and 17 young protesters were beaten and thrown in jail. The action led Amnesty International to call for an immediate investigation by the Azerbaijan authorities.

Amnesty's latest report on the country reveals concerns about a ban on opposition rallies and meetings, and the detention of journalists. Human Rights Watch last month criticised forcible evictions of people from their homes, sometimes without warning or in the middle of the night, to make way for "city beautification" ahead of Eurovision, which will be staged late in May.

There have been calls in the European parliament and from human rights activists and Azerbaijani bloggers for a boycott of the contest. Neighbouring Armenia has already withdrawn from Eurovision because of its worsening relations with Baku, Iceland's broadcasters are considering pulling out, and there have been boycott calls from campaigners in Holland, France and Ireland.

"Azerbaijan is a society of fear and hatred," said activist and musician Azer Mamedov, known as Cirttan, who said a Europe-wide boycott would hit the Azerbaijani authorities hard.

"For sure Azerbaijan will be a very good host. It will want to show the world all of its modernity and prosperity. What we won't get to see are the poor conditions of the people. Corruption is a way of life and the people are afraid to stand up for themselves."

But others are against a boycott. "That is the worst thing that could happen," said Emin Milli, a blogger who in 2009 was beaten and jailed for two years for "delinquency" after posting YouTube videos mocking the regime. The family of his ex-wife were targeted for intimidation over his opposition connections and his former father-in-law lost his job.

"There is no opposition in the parliament and it is weak elsewhere because people are scared," he said. "This is a country where people are jailed because of what they write on Facebook or post on YouTube. Discontent is there and no one can predict what may happen next.

"We had a protest in one of the regions two weeks ago organised through BlackBerry messenger; you never know when this great edifice that seems to be so powerful and invincible will fall. There is a lot of inequality, but those who have become very rich are squandering their money on prestige projects.

"Eurovision is an opportunity for the international community to focus on what is happening in Azerbaijan. The best way to understand is to come and see it."

The Eurovision contest, seen by many in the UK as a triumph of musical kitsch – Engelbert Humperdinck will represent Britain this year, while Ireland has Jedward – is taken more seriously in eastern Europe.

Azerbaijan is making the occasion of hosting the contest a centrepiece of its efforts to make Baku an international cultural capital. A TV audience of about 125 million viewers from 42 countries is expected. Amid controversy last year, scores of flats were demolished, their tenants paid little or no compensation, to make way for the purpose-built Crystal Hall, which will accommodate the Eurovision finalists at the end of May.

John Dalhuisen, deputy director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia programme, said: "Azerbaijan cannot credibly present itself as a rights-respecting democracy so long as it continues to beat up and imprison peaceful protesters.

"The regime must realise that hosting glitzy events such as Eurovision won't mask the extent of the country's human rights violations. They need drastically to change their attitude to peaceful protest."

Azerbaijan, which won the right to host Eurovision after winning the contest in 2011, has given the organisers, the European Broadcasting Union, a guarantee that foreign delegates will be secure and free from any censorship during their stay.

"We would be very disappointed to have any boycotting," said an EBU spokesmanon Saturday. "We believe strongly that Eurovision is not political. In real life, politics do come up at Eurovision. There was some talk of boycotting England in the 1970s over what was happening in Northern Ireland. But Eurovision can act as an agent of change. It is an event to unite countries and communities and bring understanding. It's important to know that Azerbaijan's prime minister has given a guarantee of press freedom during the contest, although we cannot ask for a guarantee for the next 10 years also."

"It is an astonishing guarantee to have to give," said Milli. "What does it say about Azerbaijan for the rest of the time?"