Azerbaijan has denied entry to Emma Hughes because the human rights organization she works for has criticized the regime's association with BP, and the use of the European Games (which Azerbaijan is hosting in conjunction with BP) to distract attention from repression.

Greg Palast has reported on that relationship.

Amnesty International has been totally excluded from Azerbaijan before these games.

It seems absurd to permit Azerbaijan to be a candidate for hosting "European" games, even if its government were a beacon of freedom. It is no more part of Europe than neighboring Iran is. Would they allow Japan to host the European Games? South Africa? Brazil?