TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Azerbaijan prevented members of Taiwan’s Judges Association from attending the International Association of Judges annual meeting, reports said Friday.
Baku hosted the Oct. 11–17 meeting of the IAJ Central Council. Five Taiwanese judges abandoned plans to fly after concluding they would be denied entry due to pressure from China, per Liberty Times.
Only the delegation head flew to Baku, but he was refused entry and immediately deported like a criminal, the report said. In a statement, the Taiwan group condemned the incident and asked how it could defend justice, human rights, and democracy if it could not defend its own right to participate as a full member of the global group.
The Czech Judges Association read Taiwan’s statement at the conference under a letter of authorization. The Taiwanese association urged the IAJ to set clear rules to prevent similar incidents and called for a transparent procedure safeguarding every member’s right to attend and participate. It also criticized the host association in Azerbaijan for failing to help despite earlier assurances.
