Committee to Protect Civil Society Calls on Authorities to Release Political Prisoners

The Committee to Protect Civil Society (CPCS) urged the Azerbaijani authorities to release all political prisoners and to stop the prosecution of public figures and media workers.

The appeal was announced after discussions of incidents in prison, trials and investigations.

The Committee expressed concern about the threat to the life of former Health Minister Ali Insanov, who is subjected to humiliation, as well as the leader of the REAL Movement Ilgar Mamedov, who was beaten by the leadership of Prison №2 on October 16.

Both public figures, on which the European Court adjudicated on the immediate release, are regularly subjected to psychological pressure by the prison administrations.

It was considered appropriate to demand retrial of the convicted journalist Parviz Hashimli and his release. The case against Hashimli was trumped up by the MNS employees Elchin Guliyev and Ilgar Aliyev, who are prosecuted since the dismissal of the MNS head Eldar Mahmudov.

The Committee called for transparency in the trial of the prominent journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov, whose case should be reviewed against the background of the scandalous events in the MNS.

The Committee called on the authorities to ensure the meeting of relatives and friends with the arrested public figures Leyla and Arif Yunus and abandon prejudice against them.

Particular attention was paid to prolonging the investigation into the murder of the reporter Rasim Aliyev. The Committee expressed its support for the reporter's father’s appeals to the head of state to promote fair investigation into the murder.

It was decided to appeal to the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General for the investigation into the beating of Ilgar Mamedov by the leadership of the penitentiary and for bringing them to punishment.

* The CPCS has been acting since 2009, and it includes a number of NGOs and the media. -0-