International organizations must urgently discuss the situation in Azerbaijan, activists

Baku/30.12.18/Turan: The working group on a single list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan made a statement condemning a new criminal case against blogger Mehman Huseynov. They urge the international community to more resolutely demand that the Government of Azerbaijan fulfill its international obligations in the field of rights and freedoms. "There is no doubt that political motives are behind the new criminal prosecution of blogger Mehman Huseynov, recognized by local and international human rights organizations, political prisoners as "prisoner of conscience", the statement said on December 29. Activists regard this case as "another shameful manifestation of the hostile attitude of the government of Azerbaijan to its critics." "The new criminal case indicates the absence of the government"s intention to abandon the policy of arresting its critics and ignoring freedom of expression," the statement further noted. "The government regularly uses this disgusting method to eliminate political opponents and intimidate its other critics," the authors of the document say.

As examples of the imposition of new accusations, political prisoners already serving time, recalled cases involving journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, ex-minister Ali Insanov, advisor to the chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), Mamed Ibrahim, religious activist Telman Shiraliyev, etc.

The authors of the document believe that "the European Union, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the UN and other international structures should urgently discuss the situation with human rights and strictly demand that the government fulfill its obligations in the area of ​​human rights and freedoms".

The PACE rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan should speed up work on report and submit it for discussion as soon as possible.

The authors also called on international NGOs to launch a new, broader campaign demanding the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. In their opinion, the international human rights organization Amnesty International should, under a more accelerated procedure, consider recognizing as prisoners of conscience individuals who, shortly before the end of their prison sentences, again face criminal prosecution on trumped-up charges. The working group also calls on international organizations to raise with the ECHR the question of the priority consideration of the complaints of these persons, without waiting for them to exhaust domestic protection. -06d-