(Berlin) – The Azerbaijani government released nine prisoners who had been convicted on politically motivated charges on June 22, 2012, four days before a Council of Europe body is scheduled to discuss a report on political prisoners in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. With many more people behind bars in Azerbaijan for political reasons, the Council of Europe should firmly insist that the Azerbaijani government release all of them and stop obstructing the organization’s work on this issue, Human Rights Watch said.
The nine men, who were serving up to three-year prison terms for their involvement in peaceful protests in Baku in April 2011, were released under a presidential pardon, having spent more than a year behind bars.
Strasbourg, 26.6.12: The Committee of Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe has adopted today, 26 June 2012, a long-awaited resolution on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The resolution calls upon the Azerbaijani authorities to resolve the more than 80 cases of political prisoners currently in jail in the country as well as to ensure that no further arrests are made on politically motivated charges.
"ARTICLE 19 welcomes this decision by the Council of Europe as crucial step in recognising that political prisoners exist in Azerbaijan, something which the authorities in that country have continued to deny,”says Dr Agnes Callamard, ARTICLE 19’s Executive Director.
"The practice of imprisoning persons on politically motivated charges for exercising their right to freedom of expression cannot continue and we call on the Azerbaijani authorities to comply with this resolution, as well as the country’s broader obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe,”she added.
26 June 201 John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Programme Director
The release last Friday of nine activists in Azerbaijan jailed since last spring for organising peaceful protests against the government should not distract international attention from an ongoing crackdown on free expression in the country, Amnesty International has warned.
"While we welcome the long overdue release of these nine protesters, they should never have been behind bars in the first place,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Director at Amnesty International.
The release came ahead of today’s vote on a report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in Strasbourg. The report prepared by Christopher Strasser, a German MP denied entry to the country, lists around 100 alleged political prisoners who should be released immediately or given a fair trial. The report was adopted by a narrow majority.
Editor in chief of "Tolishi Sado” ("Voice of the Talysh”) and a site in the Talysh language, a human rights activist Gilal Mamedov was detained.
Gilal Mammadov is the author of the video image ” Putin, Goodbye,” which recently blew up the Internet, and had been welcomed by the Russian opposition. Mamedov made this image and placed it on the Internet, after which the Russian TV channels made several reports about it.
After 15: 30 the mobile phone was switched off. At 16:20 a call from the Moscow number (Gilal Mamamdov brother phoned) said that Gilal was detained by police, and no explanation was followed.
Only at 17:30 the City Police confirmed the detention of Mammadov on charges of illegal possession of drugs.
TEditor in chief of "Tolishi Sado" ("Voice of the Talysh") and a site in the Talysh language, a human rights activist Gilal Mamedov was detained. "Today he was kidnapped by unknown persons," reads the statement of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD .)
Gilal Mammadov is the author of the video image " Putin, Goodbye," which recently blew up the Internet, and had been welcomed by the Russian opposition. Mamedov made this image and placed it on the Internet, after which the Russian TV channels made several reports about it.
"The calls on his mobile phone from 14:00 to 15:30 answered an unknown male voice, who said that Gilal Mammadov can not answer the phone, because he was examined by a doctor.
