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Secretary General concerned about new charges brought against Ilgar Mammadov, the chairman of the REAL (Republican Alternative) by the Azerbaijani authorities.

As the Azerbaijani Radio Liberty service reports, Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, made a statement on May 3 where he notes that despite international demands for Ilgar Mammadov’s release, the Azeri authorities are bringing new charges against him.

“This is particularly disappointing and worrying in the light of the Azeri chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe scheduled for May 2014. Not only was the Council of Europe representative in Baku not admitted to the initial trial in February, but, in addition, a group of Council of Europe ambassadors who recently visited Azerbaijan was not allowed to visit Ilgar Mammadov. I urgently call on the Azeri authorities to engage in dialogue with the international community,” Jagland says in the statement.

The source reminds that this is the third statement of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Mammadov’s case after his arrest. Jagland twice spoke to Mammadov’s lawyers by phone.

The article also says that I. Mammadov was arrested on February 4 in 2013 as a result of the protests held in Ismaili on 23-24 January. He was charged under articles 233 (organization of actions aimed at disturbing public order, or participating in them) and 315.2 (resistance to the authorities with violence) of the Criminal Code. On May 1 this year, Article 233 has been replaced by Article 220.1 (organization of mass disorders accompanied by violence and pogroms.), which defines a more severe punishment - up to 12 years in prison.

The Azerbaijani information agency reports that the Head of the Department of Public and Political Issues of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov expressed his attitude towards the statement of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe about I. Mammadov.

Ali Hasanov that the information about Ilgar Mammadov that law enforcement bodies issued, says that he is accused of a concrete act, and therefore he has been deterred “Apparently, in the course of investigation, new facts have been revealed and additional charges were brought against him," Ali Hasanov noted.