When will it be possible to solve the problem of political prisoners?

The practice of releasing a number of prisoners by the decree on "pardon" and the "Amnesty Act" has been regularly applied since 1993. However, such measures as a whole have not made a significant contribution to a positive solution to the problem of prisoners. In particular, in all reports of influential international organizations, Azerbaijan ranks the first on the worst conditions of detention and the number of prisoners, as well as on the issue of political prisoners among the countries that are members of the Council of Europe.

The monitoring shows that the steps taken by the government do not have a corrective value for the society, do not lead to a reduction in the number of convicts in the penitentiary facilities, to improve their conditions of detention and to a positive solution to the problem of political prisoners.

Is it possible to solve the problem of political prisoners with "pardon" orders?

Ensuring the right of the perpetrators to a fair trial is, from the point of view of ensuring human rights and freedoms, the most important requirement. This problem will not find its positive solution until the existing political and legal obstacles to securing the right to a fair trial are removed.

Pardon of persons convicted by a fair court, some time after the serving of punishment is considered an act of humanism. Such decisions have a positive impact on the system of relations in society and are of a corrective nature.

However, for people who, without being guilty, have been convicted for various reasons, the practice of "pardoning" is the greatest moral torture. This step does not correct convicted persons, does not bring political dividends to the government, and does not lead to solidarity in society.

Most of non-pardoned prisoners, as well as people who hold an independent position or are in opposition, do not consider such orders an example of humanism. So, recently, when signing the "pardon" orders, the authorities began to take this trend into account.

Despite the fact that the authorities regularly sign instructions on "pardon", unfortunately, they are not interested in renouncing their traditional policy of oppression. Do not back down from measures that damage normal social and political relations, let know that they are not interested in the final solution of the problem of political prisoners. The authorities have turned these methods, which deal a heavy blow to themselves, and to society as a whole, into almost the most important instruments of domestic policy; as if the government takes pleasure in the fact that, as soon as possible, citizens are deprived of their liberty on false accusations, and in fact, because of their political convictions, their activities and the desire for freedom of speech. As a manifestation of "humanism", the practice of "pardoning" these people, who live a life more hostage than the convicted person, causes irreparable damage and relations to the state-citizen.

Obviously, the problem of political prisoners, which has taken rather prominent forms in the country, brings serious tension both to the socio-political situation in our country and to our international relations. In society and in the democratic international community, everyone understands that the punishment of innocent people in accordance with the court's verdict became common in Azerbaijan. As a result of a systematic and massive violation of the law by the government, the international image of the Azerbaijani state is rapidly deteriorating. In all authoritative international reports, Azerbaijan has already firmly established itself among the non-free countries.

Restriction of freedom of speech, political freedoms, suppression of civil society and mute mouth to the free press continues to intensify synchronously. In many socio-economic and political areas, we are behind not only European countries, but even Armenia, with whom we are at war. In the report of Reporters without Borders in 2018 on the index of press freedom Armenia ranks the 80th, and Azerbaijan - the 163rd. From the point of view of media freedom, we are behind the neighboring Armenia by 83 points. This lag continues in all other areas.

In an environment where the judicial and legal system operates on political orders and political relations are not based on legality, the orders for "pardon" are of no serious significance. There are no guarantees that tomorrow other innocent people will not be abandoned under new pretexts and contrived accusations of imprisonment. And it is impossible to predict how long the force-based power will continue to exist.

The authorities, ignoring the law in the country, are able to do whatever they want. While there is no mass reaction of society to this situation. Many people seemed to accept this. And international demands are not so categorical as to force the government to retreat. Although the legal problems of citizens are periodically discussed in international forums, they do not find their positive solution. And they arrest whoever they want, and release whoever they want.

The current legal status of the people, who created the first democratic republic in the East 100 years ago, is on the verge of a very deep crisis. It is extremely necessary, in order to establish trustful social and political relations in the country, to release all political prisoners and to start wide judicial and legal reforms. The habit of speaking in language of violence, arrests with citizens, democratically demanding their fundamental rights, has not yet earned respect for any state.

The government, without losing time, should show political will, eliminating the reasons for the problem of political prisoners. Until there are free and fair elections in Azerbaijan, independent courts, normal conditions for the activity of socio-political structures, freedom of speech and independent media, neither the government, nor the international arena will trust the government. And Azerbaijan will continue to be a non-free state, so hostile to the fundamental rights of its citizens.