OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) and the Chairperson of the OSCE PA Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today welcomed the release of 148 individuals serving jail terms in Azerbaijan following a pardon decree issued by President Ilham Aliyev.
The group includes human rights defenders, activists, journalists and members of political parties.
“I welcome this ethical decision by President Aliyev to release such a wide range of people. This is a decision that the international community, including the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, has long hoped for and long urged. We will continue to encourage Azerbaijan to fulfill its OSCE commitments and I look forward to future constructive dialogue and progress,” President Kanerva said.
“I am happy to finally have the opportunity to welcome a positive step for human rights in Azerbaijan. Today’s release includes a number of prisoners of conscience, including Rasul Jafarov and Anar Mammadli, whose cases I have repeatedly raised with my Azerbaijani counterparts. I hope all of them will once again be able to contribute to dialogue in the country. I also hope this is a sign of willingness to strengthen the rule of law in Azerbaijan and that there will soon be no individuals behind bars or restricted in their movement due to their reporting, political affiliations, activism or views,” Chairperson Santos said. -02D-
Politics
-
"A group of hydrologists and engineers from Azerbaijan and Armenia, with our active support, is working together on a comprehensive water management scheme for transboundary rivers," the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mark Libby, wrote on the U.S. Embassy's social media account on November 12.
-
As the Biden administration draws to a close, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed on an emergency trip to Brussels to discuss how to support Ukraine with European allies.
-
The Prosecutor's Office is investigating the deaths of two people during the recent floods in Baku, Baku Mayor Eldar Azizov said commenting on the consequences of the flooding of tunnels in the capital during the heavy rains on October 22 to journalists. According to him, the sewer system could not handle the large volume of floodwater, which led to the drowning of two people in a tunnel in the Sabunchu district of Baku. The floods revealed vulnerabilities in Baku's water infrastructure.
-
The United States is ready to assist all countries, including Azerbaijan, in the transition to renewable energy sources, the U.S. National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said at a briefing at COP29, in response to a question from Turan about how the U.S. could support Azerbaijan in moving from oil and gas to clean energy.
Leave a review