Call for Sanctions against Government of Azerbaijan in Council of Europe

Strasbourg / 27.01.20 / Turan: In the framework of the PACE winter session on January 27 in Strasbourg, "parallel discussions" were held on the theme "Crisis in the Council of Europe: the Perpetual Question of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan." The event was organized by the Azerbaijan Institute of Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

During the discussions, a number of experts well informed about the situation with political prisoners and ‘prisoners of conscience’ in Azerbaijan spoke,” Turan’s special correspondent reported from Strasbourg.

The IRFS Executive Director, Emin Huseynov, noted that the problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan has been ongoing since the 1990s. “More and more people are being imprisoned, and this terrifying process continues,” Huseynov said.

He noted the need for PACE to adopt a resolution based on the report of the Rapporteur on Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan, the Icelandic parliamentarian Torhildur Sunna Evarsdottir.

PACE will discuss this issue on January 29.

Huseynov called on PACE and all other Council of Europe institutions to create an action plan and apply sanctions against Azerbaijan, which does not comply with its obligations to the organization.

"The Azerbaijani government must stop corruption and release political prisoners," Huseynov said.

Speaking at the event, PACE rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan, Evarsdottir, especially focused on the “Case of Ilgar Mammadov”. She pointed out that the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in respect of Mammadov have not been fully implemented.

The speaker noted that her report contains harsh criticisms and should not be rejected, but answers to these questions should be given.

The leader of the REAL party, Ilgar Mammadov, in his speech noted that the failure of Azerbaijan to comply with the decisions of the ECHR and its obligations to the organization caused a crisis in the Council of Europe.

He noted that the Azerbaijani government should respect the rights and freedoms of citizens.

“If a member state does not fulfill its obligations to the Council of Europe, this should lead to the freezing of this membership. We must work not only with the bureaucracy of the Council of Europe, but also with the leading member states of the organization and explain to them that the European Convention on Human Rights is valuable and disrespect for it casts doubt on the very existence of the Council of Europe,” Mammadov said.

Anna Rourke, President of the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organizations of the Council of Europe, spoke about the bans imposed in Azerbaijan against human rights defenders and journalists.

In particular, she pointed to the ban on the departure of the country for the investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova.

In Rourke’s view, the government should create equal opportunities for all human rights defenders to travel abroad.

Arif Mammadov, the former head of the Azerbaijani mission to the CE, spoke about the facts of torture in Azerbaijan.

In particular, he focused on ill-treatment and torture after detention at a rally on October 19, 2019 of the chairman of the Popular Front Party Ali Karimli, Musavat activist Tofig Yagublu, and a member of the National Council Ibrahim Ibrahimli.

French MP, PACE member of the ALDE group, Jacques Mair, said the problem of political prisoners is a priority for the assembly. He stated that 6 journalists are still under arrest in Azerbaijan.

The participants in the discussions called on PACE to adopt a resolution prepared on the basis of the Evarsdottir report.  — 16D-