23:00, 22 June 2012

Azerbaijani President grants pardon to convicted oppositionists

Ilham Aliev, Azerbaijani President, granted pardon to 66 convicts. Among the pardoned convicts, there are persons, who are recognized by a number of international organizations as political prisoners.

The corresponding decree was signed on June 22.

In accordance with the order, 58 prisoners were released from the remaining parts of their sentences in the form of imprisonment, two persons from the penalty in the form of correctional labour, and six persons from the penalty in the form of a fine.

There are oppositionists among the pardoned convicts. In particular, they are Arif Gadjily, the head of the central executive office of the oppositional "Musavat" Party, Sakhib Kerimov, Deputy Chairman of the oppositional Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), and seven activists of the youth movements, the "Trend" reports.

All of them were detained during an unsanctioned protest action, held in April 2011 in Baku, and were later convicted by the court decisions, the "APA" reports.