Azerbaijani journalists cannot ask questions from the PACE co-rapporteurs

 The Office of the Council of Europe in Baku cancelled press conference  of the co-rapporteurs of the  PACE Monitoring Committee, Pedro Agramunt and Joseph Gresh, on the results of his visit to Azerbaijan appointed  for January 23 at 18:00 pm. Nothing is reported about the  reasons for the cancellation of the  press conference.

Journalists from independent and opposition media were deprived of the opportunity to  get  answers to questions that arose during the visit of co-rapporteurs.

Today at a press conference on the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, Leyla Yunus, publicly accused Agramunt  and Gresh  of  cooperation with the Azerbaijani authorities, and  called them on to resign.

Yunus believes that both speakers are responsible for the increase in the number of political prisoners in the period of monitoring  by then a socio-political situation in Azerbaijan.

She asked journalists to ask the co-rapporteurs what amounts they receive from the Azerbaijani authorities for their service and loyalty.

Earlier, leaders of opposition parties, after a meeting with the co-rapporteurs , stated they would boycott a meeting with them.

In January 2013 Agramunt  twice made a speech at PACE against  the report of Strasser  on political prisoners in Azerbaijan , thus opening the green light to official Baku to replenish new  political prisoners. In Azerbaijan, according to Yunus, there are 135 prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. —0—