German Ombudsperson demands from Azerbaijan to release political prisoners

In the run-up to the "Eurovision" song contest to be held in Azerbaijan, Markus Loning, the Ombudsperson at the German Government, demanded to release all Azerbaijani political prisoners. He urged the participants of "Eurovision" to state that they would sing only in a free country.

The international song contest "Eurovision-2012" will be held in Baku on May 22, 24 and 26, 2012. The right to host it was awarded to Azerbaijan after the Azerbaijani duet Ell/Nikki (Eldar Gasimov and Nigyar Jamal) won the "Eurovision-2011" in Dusseldorf.

On the occasion of the start of selecting the German participant for the "Eurovision", Mr Loning said that if Azerbaijan wanted to conduct the festival without complications, its government should "release all the prisoners who are kept in prison solely because of their views," writes the Deutsche Welle.

The German Ombudsperson also believes that the participants of the "Eurovision" should themselves join the struggle for liberation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. "Performers have special responsibility. They must declare that they want to sing only in a free country," the Ombudsperson said in his interview to the Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung, published on January 13.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 21, 2011, Azerbaijani human rights activists organized - within the campaign "Songs of freedom in a non-free country" - debates in the Baku Media Centre, where they expressed their concern about the situation with human rights in the country. The campaign aims to draw international attention to issues of human rights in Azerbaijan on the eve of the contest "Eurovision-2012" with the aim to promote solution thereof.

On October 9, 2011, the Government of Azerbaijan submitted a letter to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with guarantees for the "Eurovision-2012". The letter says about ensuring safety of all the guests of the contest and about simplification of the visa regime. It is also noted that in the course of the contest "Eurovision 2012", according to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the authorities will ensure the freedom of assembly and expression.

Let us note here that in the opinion of Leila Yunus, Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, the country's prisons still keep about 70 political prisoners. In early January, the US Senator John McCain sent a personal letter to President Ilham Aliev calling him to set free all political prisoners.