76 Azerbaijani life convicts ask Ilham Aliev to revise their cases

In Azerbaijan, 76 convicts serving their life sentences in Gobustan Prison have appealed to President Ilham Aliev asking to reconsider their cases. Copies of the appeal were also sent to the country's Parliament, Ombudsman and the Public Alliance "Azerbaijan without Political Prisoners".

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has received the text of the appeal from the above Alliance.

Its authors note that after the Azerbaijani Parliament abolished the death penalty on February 10, 1998, the then 128 convicts to death penalty were sentenced to life imprisonment by a non-judicial decision.

In the authors' opinion, according to the then valid Azerbaijani legislation, the case of each person sentenced to the death penalty should have been reconsidered on an individual basis by the court.

"However, the legislative body, that is, the National Assembly (Parliament) appropriated the power of the judiciary and sentenced us without trial to life imprisonment, which is contrary to the laws of both Azerbaijan and international legal standards, including the European Convention on Human Rights," says the appeal of the life inmates of Gobustan Prison.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.