Azernews.Az

BAKU – The European Union delegation to Azerbaijan has expressed concern over the increasing number of reports about arrests of youth activists in the country.

"The EU Delegation calls on Azerbaijan to ensure due process in all the recent cases of arrest of youth activists and support the cooperation established with OSCE on the area of democracy and human rights," it said in a statement issued on Thursday.

The EU delegation said it closely monitors domestic developments in Azerbaijan, notably in the domain of democracy and human rights. It said those are essential elements for political stability, and key elements of the foundation underlying the EU's Eastern Partnership program, which envisions the bloc’s closer political and economic partnership with six ex-Soviet states including Azerbaijan.

The EU delegation reiterated the great importance it attaches to all fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

It encouraged Azerbaijan "to maintain an open dialogue" with members of civil society organizations expressing views and opinions in a peaceful manner.

Several youth activists supporting a Facebook campaign aiming to rally public support for anti-government protests have been detained in past days.