Azerbaijani political prisoners remind the Council of Europe about themselves

Azerbaijani prisoners of conscience - newspapers editors Einullah Fatullaev, Ganimat Zakhidov and other political prisoners - have decided to send a desktop pedestal, symbolizing a political prisoner, to Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

The pedestal made by prisoners from wood looks like a boxing ring sized 20 х 20 cm bordered by a chain with uplifted and chained hands. In opinion of the authors of the idea, this pedestal should remind high-ranking officials of the Council of Europe about rough violations of human rights in Azerbaijan and the presence of political prisoners in one of the member-states of the Council of Europe.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that the pedestal with inscription "Azerbaijan-Council of Europe" was presented to the public at the meeting dedicated to the International Day of Political Prisoners (marked on October 30), which was held by Azerbaijani human rights organizations in the office of the Project "Journalist's School".

At the end of the event, which lasted for more than two hours, Arzu Abdullaeva said that the prisoners' "gift" will be handed over to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe via his local representative Veronica Kotek, who, despite the invitation, had ignored the ceremony.

The information office of the Council of Europe in Baku has reported that Ms Kotek could not take part in the meeting of human rights activists, as "at the same time she took part in the presentation of the brochure with the guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on NGO activities." The same source from the office said that the problem of human rights is always in the focus of Council's structures.