Human rights defenders protest construction in Old City

Human rights defenders have came out against the construction of new buildings in the Old City. In an appeal sent to the UNESCO goodwill ambassador in Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, they said that by abusing authority, some officials construct new buildings in the Old City and lease them to foreign embassies and companies for a high price.

“The Old City is a state preserve protected by UNESCO. No one is authorized to destroy the old structures dating back thousands of years, and replace them with multi-storeyed buildings”, the appeal said.

Human rights defenders thereby requested the UNESCO ambassador to take urgent steps over this and punish those engaged in illegal construction operations.*