Judicial reform can end unfair judgments

Baku/22.11.21/Turan: A group of public figures issued a statement in which they called for the release of the Karabakh war veteran Saleh Rustamov, the solution of the problem of political prisoners and the conduct of judicial reform to end unfair trials. The document says:

“We, representatives of civil society, are concerned about the  health of the former head of the executive power of the Gadabay region, a veteran of the Karabakh war, Saleh Rustamov, who has been on a hunger strike for the 17th day. According to his lawyers and relatives, Saleh Rustamov's hunger strike has already caused serious damage to his health and poses a real threat to his life."

Public activists, recalling that, although 11 acts of amnesty have been adopted by the country's parliament since Azerbaijan gained independence, the president has signed 67 pardon orders, thanks to which about a hundred prisoners have been released or their punishment has been reduced, the consequences of unfair judicial decisions have been eliminated, in general, unfortunately, this does not mean the triumph of justice.

Political observer Nasimi Mammadli, one of the initiators of this document, told about the content of this statement in the program "Difficult Question".

According to him, there were repeated appeals from human rights organizations with an appeal to release Saleh Rustamov. However, so far, the authorities have not shown any reaction, despite the fact that there is a real threat to the life of the prisoner, who has been on hunger strike for 17 days.

“Therefore, we are extremely concerned about the situation in the country with prisoners of conscience, political prisoners, including Saleh Rustamov, decided to call on the authorities to carry out judicial reform to end unfair trials and, of course, release Saleh Rustamov,” the activist said, adding that this statement was made by 12 public activists representing various human rights organizations, but later other civil society activists, independent lawyers, political scientists, economists, etc. joined this document.

Mammadli said that a little earlier, Saleh Rustamov's lawyer, Bahruz Bayramov, who visited his client at the Medical Institution of the Penitentiary Service on Monday, said that he was very weak, spoke with difficulty and held out at the meeting for only 10 minutes. Despite his critical health condition, Saleh Rustamov does not intend to end the hunger strike, which he announced in protest against the unfair sentence.

The political scientist noted that the Statement they signed was addressed not to the authorities, but to the public.

“Earlier there were already several statements calling for the release of Saleh Rustamov, addressed to the authorities. But no reaction followed, although before that there were precedents when, after such statements, the authorities released the prisoners. An example is the release of Mehman Huseynov and Tofig Yagublu. But now, the authorities are showing complete indifference to the fate of Saleh Rustamov,” he said.

The political scientist suggested that such an attitude of the authorities in Rustamov may be due to the fact that the necessary information did not reach the upper echelons of power. He also did not rule out the possibility that the authorities' indifference to the fate of Rustamov may be politically motivated.

“Providing the Rustamovs with material assistance to the families of their associates from the PFPA who were in prison could greatly anger the authorities,” Mammadli said. –0—