Baku protesters threaten to boycott European Olympic Games

In Azerbaijan, participants of protest actions in Baku intend to boycott the 2015 European Olympic Games, should the demands of their resolution be neglected, and the Azerbaijani authorities fail to release political prisoners, said Isa Gambar, the former leader of the "Musavat" Party and now the head of the "National Centre of Strategic Thought".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on Sunday Baku hosted a rally with a demand to release political prisoners. The protesters adopted a resolution demanding from Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release all "prisoners of conscience" and political prisoners, stop repression against democratic institutions and respect citizens' rights.

According to Elman Fattakh, the Deputy Chairman of the "Musavat" Party, the action was attended by 1500 people; however, the observations of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent found the crowd of up to 1000.

Ragif Kerimli, a "Musavat" activist, who has his two sons Faraj and Siraj arrested and recognized by the Amnesty International as "prisoner of conscience", said that political prisoners are under pressure to submit pardoning petitions.

Vidadi Iskanderov, a rights defender and a former "prisoner of conscience", has expressed his conviction that under the international pressure the authorities will release political prisoners.

Siyavush Novruzov, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the ruling party "Yeni Azerbaijan", said that the rally showed the absence of people's support to the "Musavat" Party.

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