Statement of on the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, arrest of Mehman Aliyev in Azerbaijan
Strasbourg/25.08.17/Turan: The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, has today made the following statement in response to the arrest of journalist Mehman Aliyev:
"I have been informed that Mehman Aliyev, a prominent journalist and editor-in-chief of the renowned news agency Turan, was detained yesterday evening in Baku on suspicion of tax evasion and abuse of office. His detention was preceded by a search of the Turan premises. The agency"s bank accounts have also been frozen, forcing it to announce the suspension of its work as of 1 September.
"The Council of Europe is working closely with the authorities in Azerbaijan on reforms intended to soften the punishment system and avoid unnecessarily harsh sentences and detentions whenever possible - for instance, in cases when the person who is detained does not threaten the security of the state or its citizens. These changes are a part of a presidential initiative that Azerbaijani officials recently reported to the Committee of Ministers as being on the point of adoption.
"I call on the authorities in Azerbaijan to respect the spirit of the country"s cooperation with the Council of Europe and to fully abide by its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights in order to avoid yet another case of unjust deprivation of liberty which has no place in a democratic society. Media and journalists should be able to carry out their activities freely without being subject to intimidation or undue interference." -0-
Politics
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On February 3, the trial of public activist Nijat Ibrahim will begin in the Baku Serious Crimes Court. This decision was made on Wednesday at a preparatory hearing by Judge Aygun Gurbanova. According to lawyer Zibeida Sadigova, Ibrahim was taken to court in handcuffs. There were guards sitting next to him throughout the whole process.
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On January 23, Hilal Mammadov, a member of the Public Council of the Talysh people of Azerbaijan (PCTP), was summoned to the State Security Service (SSS) of Azerbaijan. As he himself informed Turan, the summons was delivered to him today by officers from the Nizami district department of the SSS.
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On January 22, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, and the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, held a telephone conversation.
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The court records from the trial of Teymur Kerimov, the head of the YouTube channel Kanal-11, were falsified, the declaration distributed by Kerimov's colleagues. “The court documents are distorted. They misrepresented the testimony of citizens. For instance, the victim Leila Almaszadeh stated in court that she had no complaints against me. In court, she said, “Teymur did not ask me for money and did not receive any money from me.” However, the court protocol states that she is complaining about me and demands the removal of illegally recorded videos,” writes Kerimov.
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