List of people declared personae non gratae in Azerbaijan

Unless a visa or an official warrant is issued by Azerbaijani authorities, the government of Azerbaijan condemns any visit by foreign citizens to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh (the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), its surrounding territories and the Azerbaijani enclaves of Karki, Yuxarı Əskipara, Barxudarlı and Sofulu which are de jure part of Azerbaijan under Armenian control. Azerbaijan considers entering these territories through Armenia (as it is usually the case) a violation of its visa and migration policy. Foreign citizens who enter these territories will be permanently banned from entering Azerbaijan and will be included on the list of people who are personae non gratae by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.[1][2]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has explained the matter thus:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan would like to remind all nationals of foreign countries wishing to travel to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan that due to continuing occupation by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, these areas are temporarily out of control of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Any visit without the consent of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the above-mentioned territories, which are internationally recognized as an integral part of Azerbaijan is considered as a violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and as a breach of national legislation, as well as relevant norms and principles of international law.
Accordingly, the Ministry calls all foreign nationals to refrain themselves from travelling to the occupied territories in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Ministry would like to remind that those who traveled to the occupied territories without prior permission of the Republic of Azerbaijan will be denied the entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan.[3]

As of 20 February 2015, the list of people declared personae non gratae included 435 people.[4]

List

Date unknown

2005

  • Argentina Marcelo Cantelmi, Argentinian journalist

2006

  • Austria Mark Dietzen, Executive Director of Americans for Artsakh

2007

  • Estonia Kaupo Känd, senior adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner[5]
  • Serbia Mila Alečković Nikolić, Serbian professor and member of the Writers Union[5]
  • Canada Dave Loewen, City Councillor of Abbotsford[5]
  • Russia Sergey Markedonov, Russian MP[5]
  • Russia Valeri Spektor, President of the National Security Affairs of the Academy of Sciences of Russia[5]
  • Russia Sergey Glotoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Regulations and Organizational Issues[5]
  • Russia Yelena Semerikova, Member of Russian Public Chamber[5]
  • Russia Rumen Batalov, Russian political scientist[5]
  • Ukraine Sergei Valentinovich Pughacyov, Ukrainian city council member[5]

2008

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

  • Russia Anastasia Karimova, Russian journalist[34]
  • Russia Alexander Shmelev, Russian journalist[34]
  • Russia Dmitry Bavyrin, Russian journalist[34]
  • Russia Marina Skorikova, Russian journalist[34]
  • Russia Svetlana Shmeleva, Russian journalist[34]

2015

2016

Removed from the list

The names of certain people initially declared personae non gratae were taken out of the list following formal requests and apologies on their part.

Reaction

Azerbaijan

Official

Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan spokesman Elman Abdullayev said the list is incomplete due to an ongoing investigation of more potential entry violations.[52] Abdullayev also claimed that "if the person who visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan without the permission of the Azerbaijani side, regrets his actions, aware of the illegality of his visit and will appeal to the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan with an explanation, the Azerbaijani side is willing to consider this appeal on the exclusion of that person from the list."[53]

Non-official

Investigative journalist and radio reporter Khadija Ismayilova, known for her anti-government publications, has noted that some of the people whose names appear on the list, especially those for whom no reason for the ban has been listed, are in fact journalists and human rights activists who apparently were barred from entering Azerbaijan for criticising the Azerbaijani government in their articles, as it was not evident if they had ever visited Nagorno-Karabakh.[54]

Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has criticised the Azerbaijan stance, stating:

Azerbaijan replaces the conflict settlement process with attempts to transfer the issue to the auspice of the UN, Council of Europe, European Parliament, and other international organizations. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani party's requirement for the international organizations, states, and political figures to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan grows into a political farce and its declaration of the citizens visiting the NKR "persona non grata" – into a comedy. The position of Azerbaijan is fully deprived of even hints of readiness for any compromise or concessions. This reconfirms the fact that official Baku doesn't want to resolve the Karabakh issue, trying to shift the blame for the failure onto Armenia.[55]

International

Official

Following Azerbaijan's protests, governments of some countries whose citizens visited the occupied territory, as well as establishments that they were affiliated with at the time of the visit, described these visits as "personal decisions" of the said individuals and stated that those visits did not represent their official position.[56][57][58][59][60]

The US State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs website states that "traveling to the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied areas via Armenia without the consent of the Government of Azerbaijan could make you ineligible to travel to Azerbaijan in the future."[61]

Non-official

François Rochebloine, Member of the French National Assembly and the head of the France-Armenia Friendship Group, commented on the Azerbaijani decision to ban his entrance to Azerbaijan, stating that it is an "honor" for him to be declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan.[62]

Ueli Leuenberger, a Swiss Member of Parliament, has stated that he is "grateful" for being blacklisted from Azerbaijan.[26]

The Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé visited the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on 4 June 2013. She met the primate of the Diocese of Artsakh, archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, in Shushi's Ghazanchetsots Cathedral. She also visited Gandzasar and Stepanakert, the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, where she met with President Bako Sahakyan. On 6 June 2013, the Azerbaijani government declared Caballé persona non grata.[63][64][65][66] On 9 June 2013, the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, awarded Caballé the Armenian Medal of Honor.[67]

According to Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, who is included in the list, "Azerbaijani position towards Armenians is too complicated and Azerbaijanis themselves can not explain the approach of their government."[9]

Wayne Merry, a retired American diplomat and the senior fellow for Europe and Eurasia at the American Foreign Policy Council, condemned the Azerbaijani government and said that "this step first of all harms the Azerbaijani authorities" and it is a "striking example of self-isolation and simple policy."[68]

Argentinian journalist Marcelo Cantelmi who was blacklisted in 2005 wrote: "publishing a blacklist is a despicable and barbaric act. It is a discriminatory method, historically used by dictators and tyrants, that intends to punish divergent opinions in a brutal manner".[69]

Nicholas Wondra, an expert on Caucasus, was found himself in the Azerbaijani "black list" although he has never been in Karabakh. He added that "as far as I have been included in the list, now I must visit Karabakh as an expert on Caucasus."[68]

Zafer Zoyan, an ethnic Turkish arm-wrestler, was barred from entering Azerbaijan because his last name resembled that of an Armenian.[70]

Armenian American journalist Harut Sassounian in an article written in August 2013 stated that "Baku’s Blacklist of Artsakh Visitors Helps Armenia, Hurts Azerbaijan". He added, "Azerbaijan’s leaders may not be aware that some of their incompetent underlings are causing great harm to the interests and reputation of their own country."[71]

See also

References

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  2. 1 2 Персоны нон грата в Азербайджане - СПИСОК. Day.az. 2 August 2013.
  3. "Warning for the foreign nationals wishing to travel to the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  4. Malahat Najafova. Azerbaijani FM: Number of foreign citizens paying illegal visit to Nagorno Karabakh decreased. Azerbaijan Press Agency. 27 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 "Arzuolunmaz Şəxslərin Siyahısı [List of Undesirable People]" (PDF). Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "МИД Азербайджана объявил пятерых депутатов Госдумы персона нон-грата". International Expert Center for Electoral Systems. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Who Can Visit Azerbaijan? At Least Not Those Who Observed NKR Elections". Tert.am. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
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  9. "Member of Slovak parliament writes article about his impressions from Armenia and Karabakh". Panorama.am. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  10. "Azerbaijan Protests French Deputies' Visit To Nagorno-Karabakh". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
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  14. "Citing ethnicity, Azerbaijan bars photojournalist". Committee to Protect Journalists. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
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  28. 1 2 3 Европарламент прокомментировал визит ряда своих депутатов в оккупированный Нагорный Карабах Азербайджана.
  29. 1 2 "Azerbaijan declares Dato Turashvili and Beso Khvedelidze as persona non grata". Georgian News TV. 3 August 2013.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Эльмар Мамедъяров запретил «Феличита» … и не только. Haqqin.az. 1 August 2013.
  31. 1 2 "Baku Irked by California Officials’ Visit to Artsakh". Asbarez. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  32. "LIST OF FOREIGN CITIZENS ILLEGALY [sic] VISITED TO OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN" (PDF). Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 29 April 2015. line feed character in |title= at position 76 (help)
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 "Baku Lists Russian Journalists on Blacklist". Asbarez. 26 August 2014.
  34. "Azerbaijan bans Russian opera singer Lyubov Kazarnovskaya". Public Radio of Armenia. 7 July 2015.
  35. 1 2 "Armenian-Italian Writer Antonia Arslan Declared Persona Non Grata In Azerbaijan". Horizon. 31 January 2016.
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  37. Akşam Gazetesi Yazarı Nagehan Alçı "Karabağ Ermeni Toprağıdır" Dedi, 19 Nov 2009.
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  43. (Italian)Al Bano non più "persona non grata" per Azerbaigian, ILMONDO.it
  44. German MP's Name Excluded from Blacklist. Trend. 17 March 2014.
  45. Moldovan Singer's Name Excluded from the Blacklist. ANS Press. 11 February 2014.
  46. Xarici İşlər Nazirliyinin Mətbuat Xidmətinin açıqlaması. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. 19 February 2015.
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  50. Infamous Peter Semneby: "I Am Remembered by People". Haqqin.az. 30 April 2015.
  51. Список расширится?. Zerkalo. 5 August 2013.
  52. МИД Азербайджана: большинство лиц армяне заманили на оккупированные территории обманом
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  57. Визит на оккупированные территории без согласования и без разрешения правительства Азербайджана не может считаться законным - МИД. 1news.az. 19 July 2013.
  58. (Russian) Australia, Canada, New Zealand Condemn Election in Nagorno-Karabakh. Regnum. 19 July 2012.
  59. Испания дала ответ Азербайджану на объявление персона нон грата Монсеррат Кабалье. 13 June 2013.
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  67. 1 2 "People who never visited Nagorno Karabakh Republic appeared in Baku's "black list"". Armenpress. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  68. "Azerbaijan Blacklists Editor of Argentine’s Largest Newspaper". Hetq. 10 August 2013.
  69. "Soyadı 'Ermeni' Diye Azerbaycan'a Sokulmadı" (in Turkish). SonDakika. 29 May 2014.
  70. Sassouniain, Harut (13 August 2013). "Baku’s Blacklist of Artsakh Visitors Helps Armenia, Hurts Azerbaijan". Asbarez.
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