Today the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) approved a draft resolution for political prisoners based on the report of the German deputy Christopher Strasser.
The committee meeting was closed to the press, therefore the details are unknown. At the same time, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, Samed Seyidov, told Turan that the draft resolution was adopted by 26 votes "for" at 22 "against", and will be introduced at the autumn session of PACE.
According to Seyidov, the report is "not on Azerbaijan, but on the problem of political prisoners." At the same time, he noted that the Azerbaijani deputies voted against the report. Seyidov, referring to the employment, did not explain why the Azeris voted "no", if the report does not concern them.
Meanwhile, informed sources in PACE told Turan that the discussion was heated, and was specifically on issues related to Azerbaijan. A statement by 30 pro-government NGOs from Azerbaijan was issued to participants of the meeting, which reads that the report was biased, and Strasser prepared the document without visiting Azerbaijan. It is not clear why these NGOs say that it was biased.
Today Strasser himself will hold a press conference at 15:30. He was appointed a rapporteur of PACE for political prisoners in Azerbaijan in 2009. However, the Azerbaijani authorities have not allowed his arrival to the country, arguing that the term political prisoner has no precise definition. —06C--
Politics
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On October 3, a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took place in Paris. According to a statement from the French presidency, Macron reaffirmed France's commitment to supporting Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the Armenian people's aspiration for peace and democracy.
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Comments made by the head of the FSB of Russia, Alexander Bortnikov, claiming that the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia is engaged in intelligence activities against Russia and Iran, are "utter nonsense, lies, and manipulation typical of the Russian regime, which is trying to cover up its repeated failure to fulfill obligations to Armenia and promises made", Peter Stano, a representative of the European External Action Service, stated in response to Bortnikov's remarks in Astana during a meeting of security heads from CIS countries.
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Fazil Gasimov, an economist who has been on hunger strike for 113 days while in prison, has been suffering from 39 degrees body temperature since yesterday, his relatives told Turan on Friday following their visit to him at the medical facility of the penitentiary service. "Fazil could fall into a coma at any moment. He is just skin and bones. His immune system has weakened. Since yesterday, his temperature has not dropped below 39 degrees," said a family member.
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