Rights defenders count 87 political prisoners in Azerbaijan

After the pardoning, Azerbaijani jails still keep 87 political prisoners, the study of the Union "For the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan" asserts.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 16, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev pardoned 431 convicts; and 51 of them had been on the previous lists of political prisoners.

The updated list was compiled by the above Union with the account of the recent pardoning, Leyla Yunus, a co-founder of the Union and Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD), told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on March 23.

"Even after release of nearly 50 political prisoners, Azerbaijani jails still keep, according to our lists, 87 persons, arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges connected with their oppositional and human rights activities, or persecuted for their dissent. For a quarter of a century, the Azerbaijani ruling … regime has harassed its critics on politically motivated charges," she has stated.

Rights defenders have called on the authorities to release political prisoners and stop the practice of criminal prosecution of citizens on politically motivated charges.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 24, 2019 at 06:46 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.