Azerbaijan: rights defenders give list of political prisoners to CoE General Secretary

Civil society activists of Azerbaijan have urged Thorbjorn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), who is on his official visit to Baku, to help in releasing political prisoners. He was given a list of 30 political prisoners, who, according to human rights activists, should be immediately released. Mr Jagland shared the activists' concerns and promised to raise these issues before the leadership of the country.

Thorbjorn Jagland's visit to Baku began with a meeting with a group of civil society activists of Azerbaijan. As reported by Eldar Namazov, the leader of the EL Movement, during the meeting they discussed the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the issue of political prisoners, and the status of implementation by Azerbaijan of its commitments to the CoE.

The Secretary General of the CoE was given a list of 30 prisoners, whose political persecution is not in doubt, said Emin Guseinov, the Director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

In particular, according to his version, the list includes eight youth activists of the "Nida" Movement and the leader of the Civil Movement ReAl Ilgar Mamedov.

He added that during the meeting they also stressed the need to eliminate obstacles for the work of NGOs, and to the freedom of assembly.

Let us remind you that the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of any political prisoners in their country.