Rights defenders tell Pasquier about political prisoners in Azerbaijan

After her two-day visit to Baku, Liliane Maury Pasquier, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called for an open dialogue and enhanced cooperation of the Council of Europe with Azerbaijan. The PACE's position can seriously affect the solution of the problem of political prisoners, human rights defenders believe.

During her visit to Baku on September 11-12, Ms Pasquier met the President of Azerbaijan, the Speaker of the National Assembly (Parliament), the Minister of Foreign Affairs, members of the State Committee for Affairs of Family, Women and Children, and the Disciplinary Committee of the Parliament, as well as civil society activists.

Mekhman Guseinov, the chairman of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Security (IRFS), who took part in the meeting, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that Ms Pasquier was informed, among other things, about the problem of political prisoners.

"In our country, the count of political prisoners has again exceeded 100. Of them, six are journalists. A week before Ms Pasquier, the Rapporteur on Azerbaijani political prisoners visited Baku," Mr Guseinov said.

By taking a principled position, the PACE, can seriously affect the problem of political prisoners, he believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 14, 2019 at 09:17 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.