PACE accepts Strasser's report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan

The PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights adopted two reports of political prisoners, compiled by Christopher Strasser, a German MP. One of the reports concerns the situation in Azerbaijan.

Both documents were recommended for the discussion at the PACE autumn session, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from Strasbourg. If it is approved by the plenary session, the document will acquire binding force of the PACE resolutions.

One of the documents concerns in general the definition of the term "a political prisoner", the other document evaluate the situation with political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Christopher Strasser: problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan posed to PACE

"The need to prepare a separate report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan was caused by the fact that, since 2005, there was a lack of cooperation of the authorities of the country with the Council of Europe in that sphere," Christopher Strasser has explained at a press conference after the Committee's meeting.

Christopher Strasser has expressed his regret that the Azerbaijani authorities hindered his arriving in the country and familiarizing with the situation. "My repeated requests for a visit to the country received the answer: 'We have no political prisoners,'," said Christopher Strasser, who had been appointed Rapporteur on political prisoners yet in 2009.

He has expressed the hope that at present, after the report was adopted by the Committee, the Azerbaijani authorities will fulfil the recommendations put forward.

At the same time, the Rapporteur has admitted that he does not expect the immediate release of all political prisoners.

When asked about the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, Christopher Strasser said that in total, he had received names of 89 persons and that he sent the lists to the authorities of the country.

However, according to Christopher Strasser, that does not mean that all those people are political prisoners.

"We are not a court and we do not make specific decisions. We demand to consider those cases on the basis of the criteria for definition of 'a political prisoner' in compliance with the freedoms, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, non-manipulation, access to lawyers, etc.," Christopher Strasser stated.

While welcoming the release of 9 "prisoners of conscience", Christopher Strasser urged the Azerbaijani authorities to "fully solve the problem with political prisoners."

Christopher Strasser has also stated that his intention to visit Azerbaijan remains in force.

The Rapporteur has also expressed his gratitude to the Azerbaijani human rights defenders and other activists of civil society for assistance in the preparation of the report.

Official Baku accused Christopher Strasser of double standards

In his turn, Samed Seidov, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, called the approval of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Christopher Strasser's report on Azerbaijan "a manifestation of double standards and form of pressure on Azerbaijan." He stated that it was unfair to adopt the report on Azerbaijan, while there are cases of similar nature in other countries-members of the Council of Europe, including states, neighbouring to Azerbaijan.

At the same time, Samed Seidov has pointed out an acute nature of the discussion at the Committee's meeting and adoption of the document by a majority of only 2 votes. "It's not all. At the autumn session, we will explain our position also at the plenary session of the PACE," Samed Seidov said.

Azerbaijani human rights defenders give conflicting estimates to Christopher Strasser's report

An appeal on behalf of 40 human rights and other NGOs of Azerbaijan was distributed among the members of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. They claimed partiality of the report referring to the fact that Christopher Strasser did not visit Azerbaijan.

"I am one of those persons, who signed the appeal. I also think that Azerbaijan has problems of political prisoners. I believe that the government acted improperly in refusing Christopher Strasser to fulfil his mission. However, in any case, it is incorrect to prepare the report without visiting the country," said in Strasbourg Novella Djafaroglu, a member of the Monitoring Group of Human Rights Organizations of Azerbaijan (MGHROA), the head of the Society for Women's Rights named after Dilara Alieva.

According to her, the issue could be solved by taking the report off the agenda of the meeting, creating the conditions for the visit of Christopher Strasser to Azerbaijan, and then he could prepare his report. "At present, his report based on unverified information, inclusion in the list of political prisoners the persons, who were convicted for the explosions in the Baku subway, committed in March 1994, and other terror acts, cannot be considered as an objective document," Novella Djafaroglu stated.

She has noted that, according to the MGHROA, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reduced to 10.

In his turn, Fuad Gasanov, the head of the NGO "Democratic Monitor", who had also been invited to the session of the PACE as a human rights defender, expressed his satisfaction with the Christopher Strasser's report.