Watchdog

An Azerbaijani journalist and rights activist has been badly beaten by unknown assailants in the country's Naxcivan exclave.

Ilgar Nasibov was attacked late on August 21 while he was in the office of the Naxcivan Resource Center, the only independent rights organization operating in the province.

Nasibov, who was found unconscious, suffered severe head trauma, a broken nose, fractured ribs, and serious blood loss.

A photograph of Nasibov after the attack shows his eyes swollen shut from the beating.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic said that "this criminal act has an enormous chilling effect on free expression and free media" and she urged the Azerbaijani authorities to bring Nasibov's attackers to justice.

International rights groups have been complaining about a crackdown by Azerbaijani authorities on rights activists.

Four of the leading activists in the country have been detained and charged with serious crimes in recent weeks.

The European Union has criticized the recent convictions and sentencing of six activists involved in the antigovernment Bolotnaya protests in Moscow in May 2012.

A Moscow judge sentenced the activists in July and August to up to 4 1/2 years in prison on charges of rioting.

The protests, which turned violent, occurred on the eve of the May 2012 inauguration of President Vladimir Putin.

A statement from the office of EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said, "As we have repeatedly pointed out, such sentences not only seem disproportionate, in the light of the nature of the events and the offenses these activists are accused of, but also curtail the exercise of freedom of expression and of assembly in Russia."

The EU called on Russia to honor its international rights obligations, "in particular the right to a fair trial and the respect of freedoms of expression, assembly and association."