Two human rights groups are urging Rihanna (left) and Shakira to cancel their scheduled appearances in Azerbaijan this month.
Rihanna, Shakira Urged To Cancel Shows In Azerbaijan
Think twice, it's not all right.
That's the message that the international human rights group Amnesty International and the Azerbaijani Sing For Democracy human rights campaign is sending to pop-music megastars Rihanna and Shakira.
The two singers are scheduled to appear in Baku during the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup -- Rihanna on October 6 and Shakira on October 14.
In a statement, the two rights group say that Rihanna and Shakira "should bear in mind the human rights abuses being inflicted on the people of Azerbaijan before they perform."
Amnesty and Sing For Democracy use their statement to remind Rihanna and Shakira about the continuing arrest and persecution of journalists, bloggers, and activists in Azerbaijan, including the 2005 murder of reporter Elmar Huseynov.
The letter is signed by John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia program director, and the coordinator of Sing For Democracy, Rasul Jafaro.
The letter also points out the ban on antigovernment protests in the center of Baku and the "spurious" criminal case -- "on trumped-up hooliganism charges" -- against photojournalist Mehman Huseynov.
Huseynov had actively been involved in a human rights campaign conducted ahead of the Eurovision 2012 Song Contest. If convicted, Mehman faces five years in jail.
“Amnesty International believes that the Azerbaijani government should afford all artists, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens the right to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal. We hope that you share our belief,” concludes the letter.
No reaction yet from either Rihanna or Shakira, the latter of whom found herself in a bit of aninternational brouhahain September 2011 when her name was linked to an over-the-top birthday party thrown by another notorious violator of human rights -- Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Though a Kadyrov spokesman said she had all but confirmed her appearance, Shakira denied on Twitter that she had been scheduled to perform for the Chechen strongman. And she didn't perform, in the end, allowing her to avoid the controversy that accompanied Oscar-winning actress Hillary Swank's appearance at the same event.
Loreen meets with Natalya Pinchuk, the wife of Belarusian political prisoner Ales Byalyatski.
Swedish pop singer Loreen, the winner of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest hosted by none other than Azerbaijan, seems to have found a way to both perform for her fans in repressive countries and draw attention to the dismal human rights situations those same fans have to endure in their daily lives.
"Human rights are violated in Azerbaijan every day," Loreen said at the time. "One should not be silent about such things."
Then, in July, Loreen traveled to Belarus -- Europe's infamous "last dictatorship -- to perform for her fans at a government-sponsored music festival. But she also used the platform of her appearance in Belarus to issue a statement in support of political prisoners in the country, to meet with the wife of imprisoned Belarusian human rights campaigner Ales Byalyatski, and to sign a petition at the Swedish Embassy in Minsk calling for the end of the death penalty in Belarus.
The Moroccan-born singer said she had some initial reservations about accepting an invitation to the music festival in the northern city of Vitebsk, but then reconsidered.
"I have people that like my music here. And people have a right to culture. And me not coming is a disrespect to them," she said. "I'm not here for anybody else but the people that like culture and music. And that's the only reason I stand on that stage -- to share something that I have. That's one thing. And two, to speak my mind, because I'm free, basically. That's what I do."
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says human rights workers in Russia currently face a "hostile climate" and the situation is becoming worse, pointing to one of HRW's employees in Russia who has recently received threats sent by text message.
HRW said on October 4 that senior researcher in Moscow Tanya Lokshina was sent threats from unknown sources "two to five times per day from September 28 to 30, 2012."
Lokshina, said such threats were nothing new, but the current ones were marked by an unprecedented "level of cynicism and meanness."
"To be honest, it's not the first time that I've received threats, including text messages. This is not the first time that the workers of our organization and our Moscow bureau have faced threats. But the level of cynicism and meanness of what I received on my mobile phone, nine messages within three days, was in fact unprecedented," Lokshina said.
HWR executive director Kenneth Roth said it was clear from the threats that people were following Lokshina.
"Tanya Lokshina, the senior researcher in Human Rights Watch's Moscow office has just received a series of texted threats from unknown sources. These threats demonstrate that the sender clearly was following Tanya's every move. They knew where she lived, what she was doing," Roth said.
"They made explicit reference to the fact of her pregnancy, they threatened harm to herself and to her unborn baby. They were clearly made with the intent of scaring Tanya and Human Rights Watch to stop our monitoring and reporting on human rights in Russia."
HRW said Lokshina worked on a wide range of issues but is widely known as one of Russia's leading experts on human rights in "Russia's troubled North Caucasus region."
Roth said HRW would not allow "threats" to prevent the organization from continuing its work in Russia.
"Human Rights Watch worked in the Soviet Union in the darkest days. We certainly are not going to allow a cheap set of vile and depraved threats of the sort that were sent to Tanya to stand in the way of our continued work today," Roth said.
Roth said the fact that the threats included confidential information known only to Lokshina and a very small circle of friends suggested information was obtained through surveillance, with the possible involvement of law enforcement and security officials.
Roth said HRW will be aggressive in pursuing these threats with authorities inside Russia and outside that country.
"Human Rights Watch intends to use every available avenue of address both nationally and internationally to ensure that an investigation of vigorous quality is pursued and that the perpetrators behind these threats are brought to justice," Roth said. "The climate for human rights advocacy in Russia is as bad as we've seen in 20 years."
Russia's Interior Ministry said Lokshina had filed a report with authorities and that "this document will be considered in accordance with the procedures envisioned by the legislation."
"Watchdog" is a blog with a singular mission -- to monitor the latest developments concerning human rights, civil society, and press freedom. We'll pay particular attention to reports concerning countries in RFE/RL's broadcast region.
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