Azerbaijan: six convicted "Nida" activists petition to president for their release

Six convicted activists of the "Nida" Movement have appealed to President Ilham Aliev asking to release them from prison; namely, Rashadat Akhundov, Rashad Gasanov, Uzeyir Mamedli, Zaur Gurbanly, Mamed Azizov and Ilkin Rustamzade write in their appeal that "when at large, they can make for good to their country."

The "Caucasian Knot" has informed that on May 6 the Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced eight "Nida" activists to real prison terms ranging from 6 to 8 years. None of them pled guilty.

"We, the arrested 'Nida' members, believe that currently we can use our youth energy for the good of Azerbaijan. Serving our punishment to the end would be a waste of our youth activeness. We hope that you will agree that if our young years are spent at large, it will be for the benefit of the Azerbaijani people and our country, and contribute to our release and return to our relatives," says the appeal.

The advocates of the young people have stated today that they had no information about the adoption of the above appeal by the youth activists. Thus, Nemat Kerimli, the advocate for Azizov, said that he had learnt about it from the media.

Nemat Kerimli does not rule out that the young men may be pardoned in connection with the upcoming religious holiday of Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bayram), which is celebrated this year on October 4-5.

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