UK Foreign Office has made a statement on sentencing of Intigam Aliyev in Azerbaijan. The Foreign Office spokesperson said:
“The United Kingdom is dismayed by the sentencing of Intigam Aliyev to seven and a half years, following questionable allegations of tax evasion, illegal business activity and abuse of authority.
Mr Aliyev is an internationally respected human rights lawyer. As one of the first Azerbaijani lawyers to bring cases to the European Court of Human Rights and, until his arrest, coordinator of the Council of Europe’s legal training programme he made an important contribution to the legal system in Azerbaijan. Mr Aliyev joins a worryingly long list of human rights defenders sentenced to lengthy prison sentences.
The United Kingdom is troubled by a number of aspects of the conduct of the trial which reinforce the impression that the verdict was politically motivated. We again call on Azerbaijan to abide by its international commitments and address concerns felt by many about its treatment of civil society”. -02D-
Politics
-
On February 6, pro-government media reported 6 that Azerbaijan is demanding the closure of the “Rossotrudnichestvo” representation in the country, as this organization is not registered in Azerbaijan. Requests from Turan agency to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan to confirm this information went unanswered.
-
The international organization "Women Press Freedom" condemned the arrest of journalist Shahnaz Beylergizi in Azerbaijan. A statement of the organization noted that this is the latest in a series of troubling state attacks on independent media in Azerbaijan. On the same day, another journalist, Shamshad Aga, was detained.
-
Shamshad Aga, editor of the "Argument.az" website, has been found guilty in the Meydan TV case of smuggling (Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced to two months and one day in detention. The decision was made on February 6 by the Khatai District Court of Baku, as reported by Turan, citing his lawyer, Shahla Humbatova.
-
On February 6, by the decree of Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, Sahil Babayev was relieved of his duties as Minister of Labor and Social Protection.
Leave a review