The first ever European Games will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from Friday. In the months preceding the games, Azerbaijan’s autocratic president has rounded up and jailed his most vocal critics. Yet, the European Olympic Committees, who are responsible for the games, have little to say about those jailed on trumped up charges. Why does sport think it’s above human rights?

I am Azerbaijani, but now I find myself in exile. The country’s ruling establishment has become increasingly dictatorial, and dissent is no longer tolerated. Azerbaijan is now one of the worst places on earth to be an independent journalist. The internet is increasingly censored, protest is impossible and now critics of the regime have found themselves jailed.

My friend Emin Huseynov, right now, is holed up in the Swiss Embassy in Baku. Prison would pose a major risk to his health, after a damaging injury sustained when the police in Azerbaijan beat him up in a protest in 2003. They also beat him up in 2008. After that he lost his hearing in one ear. Even after I left the country, the police interrogated my mother - a Soviet-era tactic to chill people.

All this may not be sport’s fault – but Azerbaijan’s President is certainly using it to his advantage. Using prestigious sponsorship of European football titans such as Atletico Madrid, the hosting of the European Grand Prix in 2016 and now this Olympic spin-off the European Games. These vanity games have cost ordinary Azeris $6.5bn - with the regime is so desperate to get athletes to Baku it is even paying for all the travel and accommodation for the visiting teams.

European Olympic Committees President Patrick Hickey has been effusive in his praise for the regime, commenting in April 2015: “Baku 2015 will come to life through the dedication and effort of your entire country. It has been an absolute pleasure working with the Azerbaijani leadership.”

The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Show all 14 1 /14 The Fifa bigwigs facing charges The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Jeffrey Webb, 50, Cayman Iskands A Fifa vice president. His arrest came as a big surprise, as he had been tipped as the man to clean up Fifa once Blatter departs. Webb is also president of Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) and the Cayman Islands Football Association Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Costas Takkas, 58, UK A British citizen, Mr Takkas is currently an attache to the Concacaf president. He was previously general secretary of the Cayman Islands Football Association, of which Mr Webb is president The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Jack Warner, 72, (pictured), Daryan Warner, 46 and Daryll Warner, 40, Trinidad & Tobago The former Fifa vice president and head of Concacaf was a dominant force in football for 30 years, but was suspended from his roles in 2011 amid accusations of corruption dating back to the 1980s and an investigation by Fifa's ethics committee. He later resigned, ending the proceedings against him. Daryan Warner, the son of Jack Warner is also believed to have co-operated with the FBI. He pleaded guiltyin October 2013 to wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and the structuring of financial transactions, forfeiting $1.1m. Daryll Warner, another of Jack Warner's sons, he pleaded guilty to various offences in July 2013. A former Fifa development officer, he lost the job in 2012 after his father's resignation amid corruption allegations. He and his brother both face up to 10 years in prison Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Charles Blazer, 70, USA The former Concacaf general secretary reportedly turned "supergrass" to help the FBI inestigation, using a bugging device hidden inside a key fob to record meetigs with his Fifa colleagues at the London 2012 Olympics. In November 2013 he pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and income tax evasion. Seriously ill with colon cancer Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Rafael Esquivel, 68, Venezuela Executive committee member of the South American Football Confederetion (Conmebol). It is alleged that officials at Conmebol, which organises the Copa America, received bribes from marketing executives Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Eugenio Figueredo, 83, USA/Uruguay The Fifa vice president and executive committee member is a big name in world football, having previously been at the head of Conmebol and the Uruguayan Football Association. A former right-back Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Nicolas Leoz, 86, Paraguay A former Fifa executive committee member and Conmebol president. When he retired in 2013 for health reasons, he said: "I've not stolen so much as a cent" Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Eduardo Li, 56, Costa Rica President of the Costa Rican Football Federation. He was elected to Fifa's executive commitee in March Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges José Maria Marin, 83, Brazil The former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation is also a member of Fifa's committee for Olympic tournaments Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Julio Rocha, 64, Nicaragua Fifa development officer. Previously president of his country's football federation EPA The Fifa bigwigs facing charges José Hawilla, 71, Brazil The owner and founder of the Traffic Group, a sports marketing conglomerate, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy in 2014. Two of his companies - Traffic Sports International Inc and Traffic Sports USA Inc - have also pleaded guilty youtube.com The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Aaron Davidson, 44, USA President of Traffic Sports USA, is a large promoter of football events in America AP The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Alejandro Burzaco, 50, (pictured), Hugo Jinkis, 70 and Mariano Jinkis, 40, Argentina Alejandro Burzaco, a media executive who controls Torneos y Competencias, a sports marketing business. Hugo Jinkis, is the president of Full Play Group, a sports marketing business in Argentina. His son Mariano, is vice president AP The Fifa bigwigs facing charges José Margulies (AKA José Lazaro), 75, Brazil Although he is in broadcasting, it is alleged he served as an intermediary to facilitate illicit payments between sports marketing executives and Fifa officials youtube.com

The opening ceremony today will, according to the organisers, showcase the “beauty, spirit and culture of Azerbaijan”. Yet the government’s corruption, cronyism and violence, will be hidden far from sight by a fearsome PR machine. No opposing views of the European Games will be allowed. As we discovered yesterday, along with other media outlets and human rights organisations, Guardian journalists have been banned from reporting on the games. On top of this, the lawyer and activist Rasul Jarafov, who was supposed to be running the Sport for Rights campaign during the European Games, is now in jail. He faces up to six and a half years in prison for “abuse of power” and spent his 30th birthday in prison.

Jarafov's appeal against this sentence was to be heard on the day of the opening ceremony of the European Games. Now, fearing international attention, the authorities have postponed the hearing until after the election, when the international press has packed up and gone home.

From the deaths of workers in Qatar in preparation for the 2020 Fifa World Cup, to the human rights violations in my own country, the leadership of world sport has turned a blind eye to the behaviour of host countries for too long. Hosting major tournaments is a privilege and should only be bestowed on those who will respect sporting ideals.

Tyrannical, corrupt regimes bid to host major sports events in the hope of using them as propaganda. We mustn’t let them get away with it. For the sake of Azerbaijan’s brave political prisoners, we must make it clear to the regime that they cannot "sportswash" their reputation. Sport cannot be above human rights.