By Margarita Antidze
TBILISI (Reuters) - The plight of human rights activists in Azerbaijan is worsening and Baku should revise some of its legislation to provide better protection, a European rights watchdog said on Monday.
Rights groups accuse the government of veteran leader Ilham Aliyev of muzzling dissent and jailing opponents, charges it denies. The West has actively courted the energy-rich ex-Soviet republic as an alternative to Russia in supplying oil and gas.
Nils Muiznieks, human rights commissioner at the 47-nation non-executive Council of Europe, said a crackdown on activists this year was a "very worrying turn that must stop immediately".
"What I see is that the human rights situation in Azerbaijan is far from acceptable and, unless it changes for the better, human beings will continue to endure unnecessary suffering," Muiznieks said in emailed answers to questions from Reuters.
"The situation has deteriorated in recent months, where practically all the partners of international organisations have been victims of some sort of reprisals for their human rights work," he said, alluding to the arrest of prominent rights activists and journalists.
Among those arrested are Leyla Yunus, head of the Baku-based Institute for Peace and Democracy, her husband Arif, a prominent Azeri journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov and a well-known human rights activist Rasul Jafarov.
Some other human rights defenders were convicted this year and sentenced to different prison terms in cases that critics said highlighted a government-led crackdown on dissent.
Charges against them include tax evasion and illegal business activity, hooliganism, possessing drugs and explosives to intent to cause public disorder and espionage. Lawyers have branded the charges "unfounded" and "politically motivated".
Muiznieks, who visited Azerbaijan last week, linked some arrests to shortcomings in legislation on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the way it was implemented.
"There are too cumbersome requirements for registration that inevitably drive a number of NGOs to operate on the fringe of the law," said Muiznieks, who is Latvian.
"But if the law is impossible to apply all measures taken to implement it will be seriously flawed," he said, urging Baku to bring its legislation into line with international standards.
Azerbaijan, a mainly Muslim country, says its nine million citizens enjoy full freedom of speech and a lively opposition press. Baku currently chairs the Council of Europe's ministerial committee.
The Council, founded in 1949, is based in Strasbourg, France. It is a separate body from the European Union and, unlike the EU, can only advise its member states on policy but cannot make laws.
(Editing by Gareth Jones)
