Azerbaijan rejects human rights violations claims

Baku is playing host to the first continental multi-sports event and accusations of consistent human rights violations have accompanied it ever since it was awarded the Games back in 2012.

"Political prisoners, this question has been frequently used by some western circles," Ali Hasanov, President Ilham Aliyev's political aide, told a news conference on Thursday.

"There are no political prisoners in Azerbaijan. There are people who are in prison for criminal offences. There are judicial courts that take decisions on these cases. And no sovereign state can interfere with the decision of the courts and change it," he said.

Several international human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) as well as some European politicians have accused the Azerbaijan government of arresting, jailing and torturing journalists, human rights defenders and opposition group members.

"There are 55 political parties in Azerbaijan and they all take part in rallies, pickets and elections and they practice with full freedom," Hasanov, sitting next to the country's sports minister Azad Rahimov, said.

"Some European organizations are running a campaign that claims there are political prisoners in Azerbaijan, that there is no independent press, but this is all groundless."