The recent FIFA corruption scandal is not the only major crisis gripping international sport this summer: the inaugural European Games opened on June 12 in Azerbaijan, one of the most repressive countries in Europe. With a troubling rights record over many years, the Azerbaijani government has upped its oppression in the last year to silence domestic journalists, human rights defenders, opposition activists and other critics ahead of the games.
Rather than being a catalyst for positive change, as many in the international sporting community had hoped, the first European Games have become yet another weapon in the Azerbaijani government’s effort to promote itself as a progressive, modern country—all the while carrying out a domestic assault on those who challenge the government’s version of truth.
The Olympic principles
The European Games, held in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, are a multi-sport event for more than 6,000 athletes from 50 European nations. Founded in 2012, the games are meant to be a European equivalent of the Pan-Asian and Pan-American Games. The games are owned and regulated by the European Olympic Committees (EOC), an association of 50 European National Olympic Committees.
