PPFA condemns repressions against Party members and its leader

Government repressions against the Party of People's Front of Azerbaijan, which have been ongoing for years, have resumed with renewed intensity, the opposition organisation said in a statement.

The authorities are now trying to outlaw the PPFA and deprive its chairman Ali Kerimli of the right to engage in political activity.

Aydin Aliyev, formerly a PPFA active member and chairman of the control and revision commission, was later expelled from the Party for his pro-government activities.

A criminal case under Article 147.1 (slander) of the Criminal Code has been initiated against Kerimli on the basis of Aliyev's complaint.

Earlier, on the basis of Aliyev's complaints, the Nasimi district court of Baku cancelled the decisions of the last Party Congress, including the election of Kerimli as Party Chairman, while the Baku Court of Appeal is considering a suit to suspend the Party's activity.

The authorities have repeatedly initiated criminal proceedings against Ali Kerimli, and arrested members of the PPFA have been tortured into testifying against Kerimli.

Besides, Kerimli has been physically abused by the regime on several occasions, the most brutal of which occurred during a procession rally on 19 October 2019.

Kerimli has been denied a passport for 18 years, and for 4 years he has been restricted from Internet and mobile communications being under constant surveillance.

The PPFA states that "the initiation of a new criminal case against Ali Kerimli and the court proceedings to outlaw the Party are a direct order from Ilham Aliyev".

Previously, the authorities have made numerous attempts to prevent the PPFA from functioning. The Party was evicted from its office while another building where the PPFA headquarters located was blown up.

In recent years, more than 50 members of the PPFA, including leading figures of the organization, have been convicted and today 12 of them are in detention.

Moreover, in recent years, up to 300 members of the PPFA have been sentenced to administrative detention.

The purpose of all these repressive measures against the PPFA and its chairman is to remove the only organised obstacle to the country's transition to a de facto one-party political system and the elimination of any opposition, the PPFA statement said.

The PPFA believes that the moment for Kerimli's persecution has not been chosen by chance, as processes against authoritarian regimes are intensifying in the world and the region.

The PPFA strongly condemns these repressive steps by the authorities and demands putting an immediate end to these absurd trials.

The PPFA declares that no pressures or repressions will deter the organization from its principled struggle for the rights and freedoms of the Azerbaijani people and for the return of Azerbaijan to democracy.

The PPFA expects the international community to closely monitor these illegal actions of the authorities and take effective measures to stop the authoritarian regime of Azerbaijan.

Note that the statement has been adopted by the organizing committee for preparation of the PFPA Congress.