Amnesty International does not call for boycott of first European Games in Baku

Amnesty International has not called for a boycott of the first European Games in Baku, John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Director of Europe and Central Asia, said.

“It has been reported in the Azerbaijani and Armenian press that Amnesty International has called for a boycott of the European Games following the release of its report entitled Guilty of Defending Rights: Azerbaijan's human rights defenders and activists behind bars,” the statement says. “Amnesty International has not called for a boycott of the Games in the report or in the accompanying press release or any media interviews related to the report.”

The European Games themselves will be held in Baku on June 12-28, 2015. There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition. Baku was awarded the games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012.

/By Trend/