Human rights defenders in Council of Europe gave suggestions on the issue of political prisoners

Based in Strasbourg, the delegation of the Monitoring Group of Human Rights Organizations of Azerbaijan (MG) presented in the various structures of the PACE the list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

In particular, Novella Jafaroglu, Saida Gojamanli, Saadat Bananyarly and Chenghis Ganizadeh handed a list of political prisoners, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks, head of the PACE Monitoring Committee Andres Herkel, presenters Pedro Agramunt, Joseph Grech, etc.

"We have asked the Commissioner and other members of the PACE to urge the government of Azerbaijan to solve the problems associated with political prisoners," said Jafaroglu to the correspondent of Turan. According to her, in the list of MG there are 10 political prisoners.

Another member of MG Saida Gojamanli said that the list includes participants in the April action Shahin Hasanli and Vidadi Iskenderli, the former economic development minister Farhad Aliyev, his brother, Rafiq Aliyev, the former Health Minister Ali Insanov, and the leader of the National Statehood Party Nemat Panahli. Besides them, the list includes Telman Ismailov (accused of spying for Iran, he still has to serve four months), Shamsi Abdullaev (former Special Police Regiment employee), Dayanat Kerimov (convicted for the murder of the former Vice-speaker Afiyaddin Jalilov) and Shamsi Samadzadeh (businessman).

In addition, members of MG offer to review the cases of convicts in the case of the "Saeed Dadashbeyli Group" (10 persons convicted of trying to overthrow the government and intelligence cooperation with Iran – annotated by Turan). The trial of them was closed, so it is impossible to evaluate the criminal case. We propose to conduct a transparent process," further said the MG member Jafaroglu.

Human rights activists also want re-trial of the leader of the Islamic Party Movsum Samedov and other people convicted together with him (8).

Human rights activists also suggest running the PACE resolution adopted in April 2007 to replace the life sentence for persons convicted before 2000 by more lenient punishment stipulated by the new Penal Code that came into force the same year. According to Ganizadeh, the number of such prisoners in Azerbaijan is a little over 80. -06C–