80 names included in updated list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan
There are 80 political prisoners in Azerbaijan today, the Working group for compiling a united list of political prisoners said, according to the information agency Turan.
According to the press release of the Working group, which includes about 30 civil society activists and lawyers, of the list of 98 people published by the journalist Khadija Ismayilova on August 8, 2014 26 have been pardoned or released with the end of their prison terms.
However, following the publication of the mentioned list, the repressions went on and new political prisoners appeared. The basic list of 98 people was in its time compiled based on the lists of the human rights defenders Leyla Yunus and Rasul Jafarov who found themselves behind bars at the time the list was published.
The Working group studied the cases of those who were arrested again. Based on the criteria of the PACE October 3, 2012 resolution, the Working group added 8 more people into the list: Murad Adilov (APFP member, brother of the spokesperson for the APFP and journalist Natig Adilov), Seymur Hazi (Azadlig newspaper columnist, anchor of the Internet program ''Azerbaijani hour,'' APFP presidium member), Khadija Ismayilova (investigative journalist), Elvin Abdullayev (APFP member), Gadir Khudabakhshiyev (APFP member), Asif Yusifov (APFP chairman’s advisor, Karabakh War veteran), Taleh Khasmammadov (human rights defender) and Mubariz Abdullayev (political refugee Elshad Abdullayev's cousin).