Azeri Parliament adopts Amnesty Act for 10,000 people

The National Assembly (Parliament) of Azerbaijan has adopted the Amnesty Act, dated to the Republic's Day, celebrated on May 28. The amnesty will cover over 10,000 people, including 3500 of them, who will be released from jails. Civil society activists state the imperfections of the amnesty, since it has not affected political prisoners.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the draft of the Amnesty Act was put forward in the order of legislative initiative by the MP and First Lady Mekhriban Alieva.

Today, at the plenary session of the Parliament, Ali Guseinli, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy and State Building, said that amnesties, as acts of humanity, justify themselves, since they give former prisoners a chance to reintegrate into the society.

The advocate Yalchin Imanov has generally supported the amnesty; however, he believes that it could be more extensive.

Vidadi Mirkamal, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces, has noted with regret that "as a rule, such acts fail to cover opponents of the ruling regime."

Earlier, Elshan Gasanov, the Head of the Monitoring Centre of Political Prisoners, had praised the amnesty initiative.

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