Rights defenders treat MIA's refusal to issue foreign passport to Kerimli as unjustified

The refusal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to issue a foreign passport to Ali Kerimli, the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), which means an actual ban on his travels abroad, has political motives, as in the cases with other critics of the authorities, rights defenders are sure.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in 2006, the MIA refused to issue a new passport to Ali Kerimli, when his old one expired, referring to the 1994 criminal case against him. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in their January report that the country's authorities had not yet issued a new passport to Ali Kerimli. On January 27, it became known that Mr Kerimli had sued the MIA because of the refusal to issue him a foreign passport for 14 years.

Namizad Safarov, the coordinator of the Committee against Repressions and Torture, and a member of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan, treats the refusal to issue a foreign passport on the grounds that there is an open criminal case initiated 25 years ago as unjustified and illegal.

In his opinion, "this is an absolutely politically motivated discrimination of the leader of an oppositional party."

Samir Kazymly, the coordinator of the Alliance for the Defence of Political Freedoms, believes that the practice of restricting the freedom of travel of authorities' critics is widespread in Azerbaijan.

"Ali Kerimli is not the only critic of the authorities who was denied a foreign passport. At one time, the blogger, Mekhman Guseinov, and the rights defender, Ogtai Gyulyalyev had faced the same problem," Mr Kazymly told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Samir Kazymly, at present, apart from Ali Kerimli, at least 12 people are deprived of a chance to go abroad for political reasons.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 29, 2020 at 10:00 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.