Parliamentary Committee adopts tougher amendments for unauthorized rallies

 On Tuesday the Committee of the Azerbaijani Parliament on Legal Policy and State Building approved, and sent to the plenary session of the Parliament,  the amendments to the legislation toughening responsibility for violations of the rules of  mass actions.

In particular, amendments will be made to the Law "On Freedom of Assembly", the Code of Administrative Offences (CAO), and the Criminal Code (CC).

The author of these innovations  is the MP, Rafael Jabrailov.

According to the amendment of the Law on Freedom of Assembly,  the organizers of the rallies  may be one or more  physical or legal persons.

According to the amendments to the CAO, offenders of the law on the freedom of assembly can be sentenced to public works.

Thus, under the amendment to the Article 298 of the CAO, individuals  will be fined for unauthorized actions from AZN 1,500 to 3,000, public works for 200-240 hours, or will be under administrative arrest for up to 15 days.

Officials will be fined AZN3,000 – 6000, legal persons AZN15,000 -30,000. Participants in unauthorized  rallies will be fined  from AZN 500 to 1,000, or public works for 160-200 hours, or by imprisonment for up to 15 days.

According to the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code, those who violate the rules of the rallies may be fined  from AZN 5,000 to 8,000, or correctional labor  works for two  years, or imprisonment of up to two years.

For comparison, under current law, the penalties for violation of the rules of the rallies  is 

AZN 100-500.  Fines for organizing actions that caused public disorder or participation in these activities  vary from AZN 5000 to 8000.

Now the maximum penalty for the same actions can be  three  years in prison.

If the participants in illegal actions used firearms or knives, explosives and other means of threatening the life and health of people, then a penalty will be from AZN 5000 to 8000, or imprisonment  of up to three years.  –06D-