Amnesty is Prepared

On May 7  the  Parliament of Azerbaijan will consider the draft Amnesty Act. It has been submitted as a legislative initiative by Mehriban Aliyeva, wife  of the president Ilham Aliyev. Amnesty is timed to the 90th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, said  Ali Huseynli, Chairman of the Committee on Legal Policy and State Building at the plenary session of the Parliament.

It is assumed that the amnesty will affect 9,000 people, of which 2,000 will be released from prison.

In particular: women who had not committed crimes  of greater threat to society; convicted of committing less serious crimes; the perpetrators of the crime before the age of 18 years, invalids of the first and second groups, men at the  age of 60, and persons who have small  children and disabled children  of  the first or second groups; and persons involved in defending the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, refugees and displaced persons.

However, it is not clear exactly which Articles of the Criminal Code fall under the amnesty.

Earlier, twice in 2007 and 2009 Azerbaijan adopted Amnesty Acts and both times  they were initiated  by Mehriban  Aliyeva.—16B06—