Baku / 09.11.17 / Turan: A group of US senators appealed to the US Secretary of State in connection with reports of detentions of LGBT community representatives in Azerbaijan. They urged the US administration to investigate these reports and condemn the pressure on LGBT people in the event of confirmation of the information from reliable sources. This was reported by Human Rights First.
The initiators of the appeal are Republican Senators Pat Toomey and Ron Wyden. They point to an increase in pressure on LGBT representatives in the region.
The letter was also signed by Senators Tammy Baldwin, Susan Collins, Jeffrey Merkley, Marco Rubio, Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis. The letter expresses the hope that Secretary of State Tillerson will hear the call of the senators and will deal with this issue.
In mid-September, about 100 LGBT representatives were detained in Azerbaijan and subjected to administrative fines and arrests. The police motivated this by considerations of protection of public order and the fact that the detainees offered tourists 'paid intimate services.' These actions sparked an international response, and many of the arrested were released ahead of schedule.
According to official data, 56 people were sentenced to administrative arrests. Thirty-two of them had infectious diseases, and they were sent for treatment. The remaining 24, who did not have any diseases, were released. As of October 2, according to the Prosecutor General's Office, none of them remained in custody. -06D--
Politics
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Voting in the early elections to the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan began at 8:00. Voting is taking place at 6,478 polling stations throughout Azerbaijan, including the lands liberated from occupation. 990 candidates are competing for 125 seats in the unicameral parliament.
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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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