- South Korea officials say three dead in heavy snowfall
- High-flying Fiorentina face test of Scudetto credentials with Inter visit
- Verstappen switches focus to re-boot defence of F1 teams' title
- UK filmmaker Richard Curtis makes first foray into animation
- Countrywide air alert in Ukraine due to missile threat
- China's military corruption crackdown explained
- Primark boss defends practices as budget fashion brand eyes expansion
- Williamson eyes ton as New Zealand take control against England
- Norway faces WWF in court over deep sea mining
- Trump, Sheinbaum discuss migration in Mexico amid tariff threat
- Asian markets mixed after subdued pre-holiday shift on Wall St
- Orban's soft power shines as Hungary hosts Israeli match
- 'Retaliate': Trump tariff talk spurs global jitters, preparations
- 'Anti-woke' Americans hail death of DEI as another domino topples
- Trump hails migration talks with Mexico president
- Truckers strike accusing Wagner of driver death in Central African Republic
- London police say 90 victims identified in new Al-Fayed probe
- Air pollution from fires linked to 1.5 million deaths a year
- Latham falls for 47 as New Zealand 104-2 in first England Test
- US tells Ukraine to lower conscription age to 18
- Judge denies Sean Combs bail: court order
- Suarez extends Inter Miami stay with new deal
- Perfect Liverpool on top of Champions League, Dortmund also among winners
- Liverpool more 'up for it' than beaten Madrid, concedes Bellingham
- Aston Villa denied late winner against Juventus
- Mexico president hails 'excellent' Trump talks after US tariff threat
- Leicester set to appoint Van Nistelrooy - reports
- Coffee price heats up on tight Brazil crop fears
- Maeda salvages Celtic draw against Club Brugge
- Villa denied late winner against Juventus
- Dortmund beat Zagreb to climb into Champions League top four
- Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid
- Brazil's top court takes on regulation of social media
- Thousands still queuing to vote after Namibia polls close
- Trump taps retired general for key Ukraine conflict role
- Canadian fund drops bid for Spanish pharma firm Grifols
- Argentine ex-president Fernandez gives statement in corruption case
- Mexico says Trump tariffs would cost 400,000 US jobs
- Car-centric Saudi to open first part of Riyadh Metro
- Brussels, not Paris, will decide EU-Mercosur trade deal: Lula
- Faeces, vomit offer clues to how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth
- Ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' up for auction
- Spain factory explosion kills three, injures seven
- US Fed's favored inflation gauge ticks up in October
- Defence lawyers plead to judges in French mass rape trial
- US says China releases three 'wrongfully detained' Americans
- New clashes in Mozambique as two reported killed
- Romania officials to meet over 'cyber risks' to elections
- Chelsea visit next stop in Heidenheim's 'unthinkable' rise
- Former England prop Marler announces retirement from rugby
UN rapporteur urges climate activist's release ahead of COP29
The UN rapporteur on environmental defenders on Thursday urged Azerbaijan to free Anar Mammadli, saying his detention seemed aimed at silencing climate advocates ahead of November's COP29 summit.
Michel Forst voiced alarm over the alleged "persecution, penalisation and harassment" of Mammadli, who has now been in pre-trial detention for six months on "allegedly trumped-up criminal charges" in what the rapporteur called "apparent reprisal for his environmental activism".
"I am gravely concerned about the deterioration in the treatment of Mr Mammadli and the crackdowns on civil society actors, including environmental defenders", Forst said in a statement.
Mammadli risks up to eight years behind bars on smuggling charges which human rights groups claim are bogus.
He and activist Bashir Suleymanli had formed a civil society group called Climate of Justice Initiative, which set out to promote environmental justice in the tightly-controlled, oil-rich nation.
The COP29 UN climate summit is being held in Azerbaijan's capital Baku from November 11-22.
Forst said it appeared that the charges and the lengthy detention "were a form of retaliation against Mr. Mammadli for his efforts in the lead up to COP29".
His ongoing detention on charges subject only to a preliminary investigation "therefore appears grossly unreasonable and disproportionate".
"The length of Mr. Mammadli's pre-trial detention also strongly indicates that it is a measure that is punitive in nature, aiming to intimidate Mr. Mammadli and other environmental defenders from speaking out, particularly in the lead up to COP29. This is unacceptable."
Mammadli's health has deteriorated in detention and served to "further penalise" him, Forst said, calling for his immediate release and for the charges to be "immediately dropped".
As UN special rapporteur, Forst is tasked with taking measures to protect any person experiencing or at imminent threat of penalisation, persecution or harassment for seeking to exercise their rights under the convention.
Azerbaijan is a party to the convention.
The former Soviet republic wedged between Russia and Iran has faced considerable scrutiny over its hosting of COP29.
Last week the European Parliament denounced Azerbaijan's crackdown on critics and said its "ongoing human rights abuses are incompatible" with hosting the summit.
K.Thomson--BTB