Paris Condemns Verdict Against French Citizen in Azerbaijan
France has condemned the "arbitrary and overtly discriminatory treatment" of French citizen Théo Clerc in Azerbaijan, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for graffiti in the metro. Meanwhile, two other defendants involved in the same actions were sentenced only to fines, according to a statement from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Immediately after Théo Clerc's detention, the French Embassy in Baku contacted the relevant Azerbaijani authorities to provide consular protection for the French citizen, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Embassy representatives attended all court hearings.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reminded French citizens, including those with dual nationality, to avoid traveling to Azerbaijan without compelling reasons "due to the risk of arbitrary detention and unfair judicial proceedings in a country where the judicial system offers no guarantees of independence or protection of rights."
Politics
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The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OPHRD), a joint program of the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has called for the urgent release of activist Rufat Safarov from prison in Azerbaijan. It has launched a campaign in support of the Azerbaijani human rights defender. https://www.omct.org/en/resources/urgent-interventions/arbitrary-detention-and-judicial-harassment-against-rufat-safarov
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This year, the laureate of the annual Nargiz Prize, awarded for efforts in the fight for democracy, was Akif Gurbanov, chairman of the board of the Resplatforma (Platform of the III Republic) movement, who is under arrest.
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The U.S. will prohibit the issuing of visas for nearly a dozen more individuals responsible for undermining democracy in Georgia, bringing the total number to over 100, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
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The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has expressed condolences to the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, following the tragic incident in the city of Magdeburg. "We are deeply shocked by the news of the deaths and injuries resulting from the tragic incident that took place at the Christmas market in Magdeburg," the message reads.
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