Speaking after the sentencing of journalist Khadija Ismayilova on 1st September UK Minister for Europe, David Lidington, said:
“I am deeply troubled that Khadija Ismayilova has been sentenced to 7½ years. I’m concerned by reports regarding the conduct of the trial and urge the Azerbaijani authorities to review her case in a transparent and fair manner.
We call on Azerbaijan to abide by its international commitments to respect the rule of law while taking concrete steps to improve their human rights record. The UK will take every opportunity to raise concerns over human rights in Azerbaijan”, - he said.
This latest sentencing comes in the context of the ongoing imprisonment of other prominent members of Azerbaijani civil society. These include human rights defender Leyla Yunus, historian Arif Yunus, human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, democracy campaigner Rasul Jafarov, independent election monitor Anar Mammadli, and politicians Ilgar Mammadov and Tofiq Yaqublu. -0-
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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