U.S. reiterates calls to Azerbaijan to set religious prisoners free

The U.S. religious freedom ambassador on Monday reiterated his calls for release of prisoners of conscience during the new coronavirus pandemic, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"We acknowledge and applaud Azerbaijan's release of several hundred prisoners in light of #COVID19. We call on Azerbaijan and other countries to immediately release all those incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms, including #religiousprisoners, during this pandemic," Sam Brownback, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom noted in a tweet.

The move comes just a week after the Trump administration called on governments around the world to "immediately release hundreds of thousands if not millions of prisoners who have been jailed for peacefully practicing their religion."

A presidential decree issued by President Ilham Aliyev early this month pardoning 176 prisoners in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, was applied to only two religious prisoners, who had been convicted following the 2015 Nardaran event.

An official U.S. list of global prisoners of conscience, which was mandated under the 2016 Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, is currently "in the process of being formed", a congressional source informed TURAN.

The U.S. religious freedom body USCIRF, which is in charge of forming the list, had previously placed Azerbaijan among Tier 2 countries for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the “systematic, ongoing, egregious” standard for designation as a “country of particular concern”.

On Friday, April 10, the USCIRF also issued a statement urging governments to release religious prisoners of conscience in COVID-19 response.

“Individuals behind bars in crowded prisons are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, especially those held in facilities without suitable medical care. During this public health emergency, religious prisoners of conscience must not be further punished for their most deeply held convictions by remaining in prison despite the threat posed by COVID-19,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin.

Currently there are estimated to be over 130 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, according to nongovernmental organizations, and more than half of them are religious activists.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.