Azerbaijan's SC leaves members of Islamic Party in prison

On February 21, the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan chaired by Judge Farkhad Karimov considered the appeal filed by Movsum Samedov, the leader of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA), and five other activists of the political organization. The Court dismissed the appeal of the defendants and left them in prison.

In his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Anar Gasymov, the advocate of Movsum Samedov, stated that the consideration of the appeal was formal and that the defence would file a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The advocate says that several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated in respect of prisoners. Meanwhile, Anar Gasymov has emphasized that the party members were arrested several after Movsum Samedov had harshly criticized the government of the country.

Let us remind you that on January 2, 2011, at the meeting of the General Majlis of the IPA, Movsum Samedov, the leader of the Party, harshly criticized the ban on wearing hijabs in schools and treated the ban as "a blow to the morals of the people of Azerbaijan".

Movsum Samedov and other members of the IPA, who were sentenced together with him to long terms of imprisonment, are recognized by the Institute of Peace and Democracy and several other human rights organizations of Azerbaijan as political prisoners. Their surnames were put on the list compiled by Christoph Strasser, PACE Co-Rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan.