Statement by civil society to protect the rights of the Committee on the occasion of the Amnesty Act of 20 May

On 20 May the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic adopted the Act amnesty dedicated to the Republic Day - May 28. The amnesty will cover 10 thousand convicts, of whom 3,500 will be released from prison.

Amnesty was initiated by the MP, the head of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva, and is timed to the 98th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR).

The fact of the initiatives and the adoption of an amnesty deserves respect, for a chance to pardoned to return to normal life beyond jail.

However, the fact that by the Day of the Republic was not pardoned at least one of more than 100 political prisoners, is deeply regrettable, because they are all victims of the regime which punished   them only because they  tried to defend the ideals of the ADR, which are forgotten by the authorities of Azerbaijan.

This act of amnesty is another indication that the political regime in Azerbaijan drove the country and society in a deep socio-political and socio-economic crisis, it does not want to refuse from erroneous and harmful policy of suppression of civil and political freedoms, and still opposes the creation of civil society and the transparent rule of law.

The adoption of such amnesty on the eve of the most important from a historical and moral point of view of political holiday of the Azerbaijani people, irrespective of ethnic, religious and other forms of expression, is disrespectful to the memory of the founders of the first in the East and the Muslim world, a democratic state, as well as their followers, including those imprisoned for their civil and political views.

Such a policy, and such an attitude to the past and the present cannot be accepted by the democratic forces and all sane citizens who are not indifferent to the fate of the country. In this regard, civil society Protection Committee expresses its disagreement with the Amnesty Act and urges the authorities to:

release all political prisoners,

stop further persecution of political opponents and other,

abandon the policy of political and economic monopoly,

start a dialogue with all segments of society in order to bring the country out of the crisis and the implementation of the goals and objectives put forward 98 years ago by the ADRs, but not implemented so far.

Baku, 05.23.2016