Who will be affected by the amnesty?

Baku/04.11.21/Turan: President Ilham Aliyev submitted to the Milli Majlis a draft law on amnesty on the occasion of November 8 - Victory Day. Who will be amnestied? Will it concern persons recognized as political prisoners by human rights organizations and arrested in connection with the "Terter case"?

A few days earlier, the military prosecutor of Azerbaijan, Khanlar Valiyev, told journalists in connection with the "Terter case" that torture was used against the servicemen, and many people were arrested for this fact. Could this statement be a harbinger of a new trial in connection with the "Terter case"? Is it possible to re-investigate this case?

Rufat Safarov, a human rights activist and co-founder of the human rights organization "Line of Defense", answers these questions in the "Difficult Question" program.

According to Safarov, we had high expectations and hopes regarding the upcoming amnesty, since it will be announced on the occasion of Victory Day. However, the articles of the draft law on amnesty indicate that it cannot be called the "Golden Amnesty", since it most likely will not affect people whose only fault is their political activity and opposition.

“I expected that the amnesty would affect the riot police, who were sentenced to life imprisonment and have been held in Gobustan prison for almost 30 years. Although these people committed a particularly grave crime by taking part in a military rebellion, however, 30 years in prison, in my opinion, is a sufficient punishment for people who, not sparing their stomachs, fought for their homeland, ”said the human rights activist. According to Safarov, if political prisoners remain in prison, then human rights activists will not be able to give a high assessment of this amnesty.

“Of course, in any case, we welcome this step, but I repeat, we cannot call it “golden”,” he stressed.

However, Safarov did not rule out that after the amnesty, the head of state could sign a pardon decree. Because today Azerbaijan is celebrating the first anniversary of its Victory, the liberation of Shusha and this is a truly national holiday.

As for those convicted in the Terter case, the human rights activist noted that these people are serving sentences on charges of committing grave and especially grave crimes. Therefore, human rights defenders do not expect the release of people who, in their opinion, were condemned unfairly and unreasonably. But, if at the level of the military prosecutor Khanlar Veliyev there was an admission that torture was used against the suspects (i.e., the testimony was beaten out by torture - Ed.), Then there is a hope that if these people are not amnestied, then it is possible will be pardoned by presidential decree. –0—