In Azerbaijan, satirist Mirza Sakit not yet released by amnesty

In Azerbaijan, the convicted satirical poet Mirza Sakit wants to sue his colony bosses for their failure to enforce in relation to him the Amnesty Act, as reported by Isakhan Ashurov, the inmate's advocate.

On March 30, advocate Ashurov visited satirical poet Mirza Sakit (Sakit Zakhidov), employee of the Azerbaijani oppositional newspaper "Azadlyg" (Freedom), who is kept in the Penitentiary Establishment No. 10. According to the advocate, the state of health of his client is good and he is going to defend his right to get released by amnesty.

"Keeping Sakit Zakhidov in custody after March 17, when the Amnesty Act was adopted, is illegal and absurd," said Mr Ashurov and added that he would defend Mirza Sakit's interests to the end. As to the terms of enforcing the amnesty, according to the advocate, all the amnestied inmates from one and the same colony should be released simultaneously. "Until now, all the amnestied inmates were freed simultaneously, now they plan to do it stage by stage. It's an absurdity," the advocate said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. 

Alikhan Melikov, Deputy Head of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice, has stated that "according to the rules of amnesty, Sakit Zakhidov will be released, when his time will come," the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) reports.

Rena Zakhidova, Mirza Sakit's wife, in her turn, talked on March 30 with the satirist by telephone and, as she said, "there were no news about the amnesty." "Neither Sakit nor myself believe in any early release. We wait for June 23, when his term will be finally over," she said.