Copenhagen/23.01.19/Turan: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) today welcomed reports from Azerbaijan that the General Prosecutor"s Office has terminated a criminal case against anti-corruption blogger and chair of the media NGO Institute for Reporters" Freedom and Safety Mehman Huseynov. Huseynov has been detained on defamation charges since March 2017 and in December 2018, new charges were initiated against him that could have extended his imprisonment by seven years.
"I am happy that the new charges against Mr. Huseynov have been dropped and that he can once again look forward to his expected release date in early March," President Tsereteli said. "When I visited Mr. Huseynov and observed his prison conditions just under a year ago, I expressed hope that he would be released soon. Therefore, the initiation of new charges against him in December was a cause for deep concern and I am relieved that these criminal proceedings have been terminated. I have followed his case closely and regularly raised it in my discussions with parliamentary colleagues and Azerbaijani authorities, including President Aliyev, and am pleased that he has paid personal attention to this case."
Tsereteli added that democratic reforms in Azerbaijan, particularly on freedom of the media and on creating conditions to maximize the contribution of civil society, should continue.
Last week, the Chair of the OSCE PA"s human rights committee, Margareta Kiener Nellen (MP, Switzerland), raised concerns over Huseynov"s treatment and reiterated the call by OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir for the authorities to drop new criminal charges brought against him. -02D-
Politics
-
On December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his birthday.
-
The U.S. Embassy responded to the host of the "Həftə" ("Week") program, who once again accused the United States of pursuing an anti-Azerbaijani policy, using undiplomatic language.
-
On Monday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who is currently on a working visit to Belgrade, was received by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service, during the meeting, both sides expressed satisfaction with the "strategic partnership between the two countries" and emphasized the importance of mutual high-level visits.
-
On December 23, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Serbia took place in Belgrade. During the final press conference, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric reported that the discussions focused on the development of tourism. "We are strengthening efforts to open direct air routes, as well as economic development and energy," said Djuric. The minister expressed confidence that cooperation between Serbia and Azerbaijan would become even closer and more intensive in the near future.
Leave a review