Twenty-one Inmates Recommended for Parole

In Correctional Facility №11 on 6 October there was a meeting of the Commission on Parole, according to the NGO Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan.

The Commission received applications from 25 high security prisoners who have served 3/4 of their sentence. As a result of the discussions, 21 of them were recommended for parole.

Commenting on the review of the applications, a member of the Commission Zaliha Taghirova noted that the grounds for refusal in one of the cases was a debt of 1,140 manats unpaid to the state for more than 5 years, and in another case - a debt of 2,500 manats unpaid to the victim. In another case, a prisoner for 11 years managed to get 48 penalties and only 3 encouragements. There was another case, in which the person already convicted of drug trafficking was encouraged to meet his military achievements, disability and children. He was significantly reduced the time of imprisonment, but some time later he organized the delivery of a batch of heroin into the prison. In such cases, of course, the Commission may question the willingness of the convicted person to return back into society.

* Established in 2013, the Commission is made up of officials of various departments of the Ministry of Justice and civil society activists. In considering appeals, they take into account such factors as the nature of the crime, health, the availability of unpaid losses, reconciliation with the victims, the number and nature of penalties while serving their sentence.

Opinion of the Commission is set out in a document submitted to the court together with the application of the convicted person and his characteristics. The prisoners recommended by the Commission have a better chance in court (90%), which decides on parole. -0-