PACE calls for the authorities of Azerbaijan to fulfill their obligations before the Council of Europe

In the evening of January, 23, Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe considered two reports on Azerbaijan.

A report on fulfillment of its obligations before the Council of Europe by the country prepared by reporters of PACE Monitoring Center and a resolution running that is spite of some progress in the sphere of improvement of the legislation in Azerbaijan, serious problems with human rights, freedom of expression and assembly still remained were adopted by 196 votes for and 2 votes against.

A report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan made by German deputy Christoph Strasser was declined. It was supported by only 74 votes with 125 against.

The deputies who supported Strasser emphasized his failure to visit Azerbaijan. It should be reminded that in October of 2011 Strasser cancelled his trip to Azerbaijan for the reason of not receiving a visa. In April of 2012 he declared that he would not try to get the Azerbaijani visa any longer.

In his turn, British deputy Robert Walter criticized the report “based on blogs and statements of NGOs. I consider that it discredits our work”, Walter said.

“I was not given a chance to visit the country. I am accused of subjectivity. My report was based on a thorough study. We received information from different sources. We must work for the sake of unlawfully arrested people”, Strasser himself said.