Border guards do not let two rights defenders leave Azerbaijan

On April 14, Bashir Suleimanly, a former political prisoner, the Executive Director of the Centre for Monitoring Elections and Democracy Training (CMEDT), was banned from leaving Azerbaijan. A day earlier, rights defender Elshan Gasanov was also banned from leaving the country.

"I intended to go to Georgia to visit my relatives. However, at the border checkpoint 'Syinyg Korpyu', Azerbaijani border guards did not let me out of the country. They have told me that the General Prosecutor's Office has imposed a ban on my departure from the country," Bashir Suleimanly has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Bashir Suleimanly, he told the border guards "that the ban had been introduced in the period of investigation into his case," and after that, he "was convicted and this March he was released in accordance with the resolution on pardon issued by the Azerbaijani President."

"The fact is that when a person is pardoned, all limitations of his or her rights are cancelled. However, all of my arguments had no effect, and I was brought back," Bashir Suleimanly has stated.

In his turn, Elshan Gasanov, the head of the Centre for Monitoring of political prisoners, has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that on April 13, he was not allowed to leave Azerbaijan for Iran for medical treatment.

According to Elshan Gasanov, at the border checkpoint "Bilasuvar", Azerbaijani border guards told him that the Ministry of Justice had imposed a ban on his leaving the country.

Elshan Gasanov has said he was not aware of the reasons for the ban issued by the Ministry of Justice.

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