Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the country must be "ten times stronger" than Armenia "every day," explaining this by the need to maintain military superiority even after the initialing of a peace agreement between the two countries. He outlined his position on October 2 at the 8th Congress of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party in Baku.
In its 2022 report, the international non-governmental organization Amnesty International spoke about the human rights situation in Georgia.
In particular, human rights defenders singled out the case of the former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, whose health condition in detention has deteriorated.
«Despite medical indications indicating possible heavy metal poisoning and an increased risk of death, the court in Tbilisi did not postpone Mikhail Saakashvili serving a prison sentence», Amnesty International reports.
In addition, the report noted that last year leaders of the opposition party «Lelo» Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, founder of «Pirveli» TV channel were sentenced to real prison terms on politically motivated charges Avtandil Tsereteli and Nika Gvaramia, Director General of «Mtavari» TV channel.
A report by Amnesty International indicated that the Parliament of Georgia had adopted amendments giving law enforcement agencies expanded powers to conduct secret surveillance of dissenters. In general, freedom of opinion continued to be restricted and selectivity in the administration of justice maintained.