Rights defenders urge to pardon Azerbaijani convicts

The Baku Human Rights Club has appealed to Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliev, with a request to release 110 persons sentenced to various prison terms, including life imprisonment, the "Turan" News Agency reported on February 15.

The initiators have also sent copies of the appeal to Samir Nuriev, the chairman of the presidential pardon commission, and to members thereof.

Azerbaijani human rights defenders have made their appeal in view of the practice of signing presidential pardon decrees on the eve of Novruz holiday.

"During the war and after it, in your public speeches, you have repeatedly emphasized that the victory in Karabakh was achieved thanks to national unity and solidarity. While unambiguously supporting this thesis, we believe that a broad pardoning in the context of Karabakh victory will further strengthen this unity and justify the arisen positive expectations," the "Turan" quotes the appeal.

In total, human rights defenders ask to pardon and release 110 inmates. The list includes the figurants of the "Ganja case", arrested after the events on July 10, 2018; of the "Terter case" and the "Nardaran case"; activists of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA); journalists, three life imprisonment convicts under the OPON mutiny case in 1995, and others, the "Turan" further reported with reference to Rasul Djafarov, a human rights defender.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 16, 2021 at 07:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.