PACE co-rapporteur on monitoring Azerbaijan Lise Kristoffersen (Norway) and the general rapporteur on political prisoners Thorhildur Sunna Evarsdottir (Iceland) have expressed their deep concern over the sentencing of prominent Azerbaijani activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.
‘We are deeply disturbed by the 13 January sentence of the Baku Court for Serious Crimes, which sentenced Mr Hajiyev to 10 years of imprisonment, confiscated his flat in Baku and the funds in his bank accounts, and banned him from engaging in educational activities upon his release. This sentence is unjust and disproportionate to the alleged offences,’ their statement reads.
Recall that Hajiyev was arrested on 9 December 2022 and initially charged with hooliganism and contempt of court. He was later charged with economic offences related to the alleged misuse of allocated subsidies. He has denied all these charges, calling them ‘completely fabricated’ and politically motivated. Human rights organisations consider him a political prisoner.
The 13 January verdict repeats ‘a disturbing trend of arbitrary arrests of government critics, civil society activists and human rights defenders through harassment and abuse of criminal law in violation of the rule of law,’ the statement further noted.
‘We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to review this decision in line with international human rights standards and immediately release Mr Hajiyev and all others who remain in detention in retaliation for their criticism of the government and/or their human rights activities,’ the rapporteurs stressed.
Politics
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On January 16, the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons of Azerbaijan reported that 32 families, totaling 153 people, returned to Jabrayil. A total of 1,487 people (358 families) have now returned to the Jabrayil region. The day before, 6 families (25 people) returned to the city of Khodjaly, 18 families (92 people) to the village of Ballidja, and 2 families (8 people) to Shusha. In total, 10,675 people have returned to the liberated territories to date.
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Georgia's Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, arrived in Baku for an official visit on January 16, and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze is expected to arrive in Baku on January 17, reports Echo of the Caucasus, citing government sources. Western countries refuse to recognize the legitimacy of Kobakhidze and his government due to the rigged elections. Until now, Kobakhidze and members of his cabinet have not made any official foreign visits.
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The Biden administration Wednesday announced new 'biting' Russia sanctions, as well as further actions to tighten some of its previous sanctions against Moscow by giving Congress the ability to block any attempts to weaken measures against core parts of the Kremlin's war machine, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
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Chief of General Staff of the Azerbaijani Army Kerim Veliyev attended the meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels in the format of Chiefs of General Staff of the Alliance member states.
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