Human Rights Union's new list includes 235 political prisoners

Baku/04.10.23/Turan: The Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan (UFPPA) has today published an updated list of 235 political prisoners.

The list was compiled by Leyla Yunus, director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, and Elshan Hasanov, head of the Political Prisoners Monitoring Centre.

Political prisoners are divided into 8 groups: "journalists and bloggers" - 6 persons

"Human rights defenders" - 2 persons

"Members of opposition parties and movements" - 11 persons

Political emigrants deported from Germany" - 5 persons

"Believers" - 171 persons

"Convicted in the Terter case" - 7 persons

"Convicted in the Ganja case" - 22 persons

"Life convicts" - 11 persons.

In the group - "Journalists and bloggers" - Polad Aslanov, Osman Rzayev, bloggers - Aslan Gurbanov, Rashad Ramazanov and Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.  Jamil Mammadli, a blogger from the northern region of the country, is new to the list.

The second group, "Human rights defenders", is new and was not on the previous list announced on 31 July (there were 204 persons on the list), human rights activist Hasanov, who co-authored the list, told Turan. This group includes Taleh Hasmamedov, a human rights defender from Geychay region, and Rail Abbasov, a public defender of activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.

In the group "Journalists and bloggers" - Polad Aslanov, Osman Rzayev, bloggers - Aslan Gurbanov, Rashad Ramazanov and Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.  Jamil Mammadli, a blogger from the northern region of the country, is new to the list.

The second group, "Human rights defenders", is new and was not on the previous list announced on 31 July (there were 204 persons on the list), human rights activist Hasanov, who co-authored the list, told Turan. This group includes Taleh Hasmamedov, a human rights defender from Geychay region, and Rail Abbasov, a public defender of activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.

In the group "Members of opposition parties and movements" - 11 persons. Among them are activists of the Party of People's Front of Azerbaijan  - Alizamin Salayev, Niyameddin Ahmedov, Shahin Hajiyev, Agil Humbatov, Elkhan Aliyev; head of Azerbaijan Democracy and Welfare Party Gubad Ibadoglu, former MP Nazim Beydemirli. New to this group are trade union activists Afiaddin Mammadov, Elvin Mustafayev and Ayhan Israfilov, as well as Ruslan Vahabov, a member of the Azerbaijani Talysh Public Council.

In the group "Political emigrants deported from Germany" there are still five persons - PPFA member Punkhan Kerimli, Jafar Mirzoyev, Malik Rzayev, Mutallim Orujev and Samir Ashurov.

In the "Believers" group there are 171 names, including defendants of the "Nardaran case", several theologians, as well as a large group of believers arrested from the summer of the last year to September of this year.  As compared to the previous list in this category, 1 believer dropped out (Jeyhun Babashov, who was released from custody due to a sharp deterioration of his health). However, 25 new believers appeared on the list, including Agali Yakhyaev, a board member of the Muslim Unity Movement. All those arrested are accused of drug trafficking.

Seven persons from the "Terter case" and 22 from the "Ganja case" also remain on the list of political prisoners. Another 11 political prisoners are serving life sentences.

Individuals from the latter group were sentenced to execution in the early and mid-1990s for the 1995 OPON mutiny and other war crimes. After the abolition of the death penalty in 1998, they were commuted to life imprisonment by a decision of the Milli Majlis. However, the law does not have retroactive effect. Therefore, they should have had their death penalty commuted to the then alternative maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, human rights activists believe. -06D-