Azerbaijan, Baku, May 25 /Trend E.Tariverdiyeva/
Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenian support, continued to control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. It is stated in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011.
"During the year shooting incidents continued along the militarized line of contact separating the two sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and caused numerous casualties on both sides. Figures for civilian casualties along the line of contact were not available," the report said.
Regarding the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in 2011, the authors of the report, along with a positive assessment of such facts as the absence of politically motivated disappearances, restrictions on access to the Internet, anti-Semitism, expressed concern about the state of freedom of speech, assembly, association and judiciary.
The report also says about the fight against corruption, in the frame of which the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that it investigated 38 counts of corruption. It took disciplinary action for corruption-related violations against 53 employees during the year, dismissing 29, demoting 22, and issuing official warnings to two.
The report notes increase in number of women at the Parliament, and that members of minority groups such as the Talysh, Avars, Russians, and Jews served in the Parliament of Azerbaijan and in the government.