The head of the US Helsinki Commission, Christopher Smith and the Commission member Roger Wicker welcomed the release of the journalist Khadija Ismayilova from prison.
"We urge the authorities to drop all charges against Ismayilova and restore the Baku bureau of Radio Liberty.
The case of Khadija is not the first use of the judicial system to suppress independent voices in Azerbaijan.
Until now, other people convicted of requirements to ensure the rule of law and norms of democracy as Ilgar Mammadov are still detained.
We welcome their courage and call on the authorities again to fulfill their obligations to the OSCE, to put an end to repression against journalists, civil society activists and religious minorities," their statement said.
Release of Ismayilova was also welcomed by the Director of the US Broadcasting Council (BBG) John Lansing, who called on to drop all the charges against the journalist and restore the Baku bureau of Radio Liberty and to stop the criminal case against employees of the radio.
Another member of the Helsinki Commission, Senator Ben Cardin in an interview with the Voice of America said the arrest of Khadija originally was unfair and called to remove all the charges against her.
"I am proud of the role played by our Senate, as well as other independent groups, in her release. All of this suggests that the overall efforts yielded results," said Cardin.
At the same time, he made it clear that the application of the Global Magnitsky law against the authorities of Azerbaijan is not excluded.
"This law is designed to have an impact on those who have violated human rights in their countries. If this happens, the international sanctions will be applied: we will not let them into our country and will not allow the use of our banking system," he said.
Another well-known Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher welcomed the release of Ismayilova and congratulated her on her birthday.
The well-known presenter of CNN TV Christiane Amanpour also joined the congratulations. -16D-
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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