A group of PACE deputies re-initiate the appointment of a rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan

Baku/23.10.23/Turan: Twenty-four PACE deputies made a proposal to appoint a new rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

The corresponding petition, drawn up on the initiative of the deputy from Switzerland Sibel Arslan, was supported by 23 more deputies from Austria, Great Britain, Cyprus, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Ireland, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Moldova, Iceland. This was reported to Turan by human rights activist Emin Huseynov, director of the Institute for Freedom and Security of Reporters of the organization, which has a partner status with the Council of Europe.

The document entitled: "The need to investigate politically motivated persecution in Azerbaijan" expresses "concern about the intensification of repression against Azerbaijani journalists, trade union activists, environmental human rights defenders, oppositionists and prisoners of conscience in 2023."

Over the previous 12 months, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan has doubled - from 99 to more than 200 people.

The repression against civil society in Azerbaijan is more obvious than ever and it remains the key instruments of intimidation and suppression of critical voices, the document says.

Of particular note is "the arbitrary detention of a prominent anti-corruption expert, a well-known economist and oppositionist Gubad Ibadoglu, whose health condition is deteriorating every day."

Another "egregious case" of politically motivated arrest was called the case of Harvard University graduate Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, who was arrested in December 2022 on trumped-up charges "simply for cooperation with the European Foundation for Democracy, whose grants he used to promote the values of the Council of Europe in the field of human rights and democracy in Azerbaijan."

"The Parliamentary Assembly should appoint a rapporteur who will investigate the growing problem of political prisoners. The Assembly should call on the Azerbaijani authorities to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights, and stop human rights violations, as well as immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners," the statement concludes.

PACE has already reviewed reports on political prisoners in Azerbaijan twice.

The report of Christoph Strasser in 2013 was a failure, but in 2020 PACE adopted a resolution based on the report of Sunna Evardsottir, which called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release all political prisoners.

Now Evardsottir is the General Rapporteur on political prisoners in all the countries of the Council of Europe.

The initiative of 24 deputies must be approved by the Standing Committee and the PACE Bureau, after which the relevant Committee of the Assembly will appoint a rapporteur. ---06B---