Human rights defenders stated about 165 political prisoners in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani Centre for Defence of Political Prisoners updated the list of political prisoners, it has been added four new arrested persons and excluded one dead in the Investigative cell. According to human rights activists, the total number of political prisoners in the list is 165 men. The cases of pressure into Azerbaijani activists in Georgia will be generalized in separate report.
According to “Kavkazsky uzel”, the Centre for Defence of Political Prisoners (CDPP) was set up 27 January on the base of working group that was earlier established by the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy Leyla Yunus, Public Alliance “Azerbaijan without Political prisoners” and the Centre for Monitoring of political prisoners. On estimation of human rights activists, that time a number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan was 167 men. On 1 April this list was updated and consisted on surnames of 162 men.
A correspondent of “Kavkazsky uzel”, who took part in the event, said that on 6 June in press-conference in the office of Association of Intelligentsia of Azerbaijan was presented updated list of the political prisoners that was drawn up by the CDPP.
For the last two months it has been strengthened the pressure on civil society and opposition, said in the press-conference one of the coordinators of the CDPP, a head of Public Alliance “Azerbaijan without Political prisoners” Ogtay Gulaliyev.
“Unfortunately, the last days it has begun a new wave of the arrest. Number of political prisoners has been added with four men. Gezal Bayramly, a deputy of chairman of Popular Front Party, was arrested, when she came back from Georgia. Further, in Georgia was stolen and handed to law enforcement officers of Azerbaijan journalist-investigator Afgan Mukhtaly. Aziz Orijev, a director of Internet-TV “Kanal-13” was arrested in Baku. Earlier it was arrested a habitant of Nardaran settlement Natig Shahbazov (forth representative of the Shahbazov’s family arrested after special operation in Nardaran against the believers in November 2015)”, Gulaliyev told.
Political motives of criminal prosecution of these people are obvious, and they fall under criteria of notion ‘political prisoner’ that established by the PACE, he noted.
On 3 October 2012 Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution concerning a notion of ‘political prisoner’. It was determined five criteria determining of ‘political prisoner’. “A person deprived of his or her personal liberty is to be regarded as a ‘political prisoner’: a). if the detention has been imposed in violation of one of the fundamental guarantees set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols (ECHR), in particular freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom of assembly and association; b). if the detention has been imposed for purely political reasons without connection to any offence; c). if, for political motives, the length of the detention or its conditions are clearly out of proportion to the offence the person has been found guilty of or is suspected of; d). if, for political motives, he or she is detained in a discriminatory manner as compared to other persons; or, e). if the detention is the result of proceedings which were clearly unfair and this appears to be connected with political motives of the authorities”. In addition, since previous updating of the political prisoners list on 1 April the death in Investigative cell of Mehman Galandarov was a heavy loss, Gulaliyev continued.
“We have a little faith in the version about suicide of Galandarov. In the context of the last events there become more obvious a political nature of Galandarov’s case. As Georgian authorities did not give him a political asylum he had to come back Baku and was imprisoned”, human rights activist noted.
Concerning Galandarov’s death, who was a regular participant of oppositional actions, on 29 April was told by his friends and relatives. According to them, Galandarov committed suicide in an Investigative cell. Prosecutor’s office begun an investigation on the case on incitement to suicide; two officers of the Investigative cell were fired. The US State Department called Azerbaijani authorities to investigate a death of the activist.
Thus, as for 6 June, number of political prisoners is 165 persons, Gulaliyev stated.
Other coordinator o the CDPP, a head of the Center for Monitoring of political prisoners Elshan Hasanov noted at press-conference the problem of persecution of Azerbaijani political emigrants in Georgia.
“Here it was told about cases of Afgan Mukhtarly, Gezal Bayramly, tragic death of Mehman Galandarov. But, there are other alarming facts. Georgia annuled a permission of famous activist Dashgyn Agalarov to live in the country, demanded to leave the country for activist Vidadi Isgenderov, arrested a doctor Farman Jeyranov”, – Hasanov noted.
Earlier questioned by “Kavkazsky uzel” Azerbaijani activists stated that it is strengthened a pressure on the regime’s opponents of the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Georgia, and stealing of the journalist Mukhtarly in Tbilisi will be negatively reflected on image of Georgia. Georgian political scientists also considered that the case of Mukhtarly inflicted damage to Georgia.
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