OSCE claims no conditions for democratic elections in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, suppression of critical voices has a very negative impact on the upcoming elections. This has been announced in the statement made by Isabel Santos, Chair of the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which has been received by the "Caucasian Knot" today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 28, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev signed a resolution to schedule the next elections to the National Assembly for November 1.

"NGO leader Anar Mamedov cannot monitor the elections from prison, and journalist Khadija Ismayilova cannot write articles from prison. Intigam Aliev, Rasul Jafarov, Leyla Yunus and other human rights defenders and critics of the government have become political prisoners in Azerbaijan. And the process is still going on. On the eve of the parliamentary elections, when critical voices are important for debates and determination of the future way of the country, Azerbaijani citizens will suffer from the silence, organized by the government," Isabel Santos has stated.

"I call on the leaders of Azerbaijan to cooperate with citizens and the international community in an open and honest dialogue in order to return to the country human rights and the rule of law," Isabel Santos has emphasized.

She has also expressed the hope that the Azerbaijani authorities will agree to welcome the full OSCE mission for the monitoring of the elections and will not restrict the activities of observers.

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