Politics 14:36 25/03/2016 World

David Kramer: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev must not be allowed to enter White House for meeting with Obama

A large number of people is released from prison and it rejoices, but there is still a huge number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, David Kramer, the former president of Freedom House, who is currently the Senior Director for Human Rights and Human Freedoms at McCain Institute, told Voice of America, according to Azadliq newspaper.

Kramer reminded that most of the released prisoners were not even acquitted. "Spouses Leyla and Arif Yunus are not allowed to leave the country for treatment," Kramer said noting that the Azerbaijani authorities have a lot to do to fulfill their commitments before the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

“The political prisoners must not become a subject to trade with in order to organize a meeting between the US President Barack Obama and Ilham Aliyev," he added.
Kramer also urged not to allow Aliyev, the Azerbaijani President, to enter the Oval Office and meet the US leader tête-à-tête.

According to him, Aliyev announced the start of repressions to prevent events similar to the Ukrainian “Maydan” from happening in Azerbaijan. However, the scale of these crackdowns is so wide, and they are so tough, that this turned into an unprecedented wave of repression in Azerbaijan. “Azerbaijan has turned into the most repressive country in the region,” Kramer said.

Meanwhile, local Turan news agency reports that the country's Prosecutor General, Zakir Garalov, is “angered” with the extremely severe sentence on the known human rights defender Intigam Aliyev. In this connection, the Prosecutor filed a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court.

Intigam Aliyev’s lawyer, Javad Javadov, wrote about this sensational information on his Facebook page adding that the cassation will be considered on March 28.

“Now the Prosecutor General declares that the sentence is too harsh and needs to be softened. The name of this theater of absurd is the legal system of Azerbaijan. The reason for this performance is the forthcoming visit of Ilham Aliyev to the United States, where an explanation for the crackdown on civil society will be demanded from him. According to diplomatic sources, none of the US administration will meet with Aliyev if he does not release all the political prisoners, including Intigam Aliyev, Ilgar Mammadov and Khadija Ismayilova,” emphasizes Turan.

In addition, according to the news agency, the process of adopting the bill Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015, which provides for the imposition of sanctions against the country's authorities, will be set in motion.

On 22 April 2015, Azerbaijani human rights defender and the leader of the Legal Education Society, Intigam Aliyev, was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months imprisonment under Articles 213.1 (tax evasion), 308.2 (abuse of power with grave consequences), 192.2 (illegal entrepreneurship) and 179.3.2 (embezzlement) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Farid Nagiyev, the prosecutor, offered to condemn Aliyev to 10 years imprisonment in penal colony. Intigam Aliyev was arrested on 8 August 2014.

On March 17, Azerbaijan’s President IlhamAliyev signed a decree of pardon, due to which a part of the almost 100 political prisoners was released. Rashad Hasanov, Mohammed Azizov, RashadatAkhundov, activists of the movement NIDA; TofigYagublu and YadigarSadigli, deputy chairmen of the party Musavat; rights defenders RasulJafarov, TalehKhasmammadov, AnarMammadli and HilalMammadov; oppositionist NeimatPanahli; blogger Omar Mammadov; SirajKarimli, who was recognized a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International; AkifMuradverdiyev, former head of the Executive Office of the President; and the journalist ParvizHashimliare among the pardoned prisoners.



Source Panorama.am
Share |

Related news

Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:03
Raúl among potential candidates for Armenia manager
Raúl is being considered among the potential candidates for the new head coach of Armenia’s national football team, Armen...
16:46
Putin reiterates Russia's commitment to normalizing Armenian-Azeri relations
Moscow is doing all it can to help relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia to normalize and sees these countries as its natural strategic...
16:30
Colder weather ahead in Armenia
Clear weather is expected in Armenia’s regions on Tuesday and in the next few days. Strong winds of up to 25 m/s are forecast for some...
16:12
Nearly 58% of survey respondents dissatisfied with Pashinyan's performance
According to a Gallup International Association survey, nearly 58% of respondents are dissatisfied with Armenian Prime Minister...
15:31
Global prayer for Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan on the eve of COP29
On the initiative of His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, an ecumenical (global) prayer for peace and justice in Armenia and the...
15:15
Putin receives credentials from new Armenian ambassador
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday received letters of credence from 28 newly arrived foreign ambassadors, including Armenian...
14:43
Azerbaijan has no plans to leave Armenian territories, MP claims
MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition Pativ Unem faction has called attention to the discussion on the sequence of border sections for...
14:05
Georgian travel agency deletes post on Armenia's Lori, unavailable on president's page
Georgian travel agency Adjara Voyage has deleted its social media post describing Armenia's Lori Province as “historical...
13:35
EU officials visited Armenia for visa liberalization talks, deputy FM says
EU officials have travelled to Armenia for visa liberalization talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan said on Tuesday....
13:15
Greta Thunberg boycotts COP29 in Baku
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has announced her decision to boycott the upcoming COP29 climate summit, set to take place in Baku,...
12:59
UN court to deliver judgment on Armenia v. Azerbaijan case on November 12
On Tuesday 12 November, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its...
12:33
Opposition MP asks to postpone independence declaration debates
Opposition Hayastan faction MP Gegham Manukyan on Tuesday asked a parliamentary committee to postpone debates on a statement defending...
12:03
Senator Markey: COP29 should be used to hold Azerbaijan accountable for war crimes
U.S. Senator Ed Markey insists that COP29 should be used to hold the Azerbaijani government accountable for its war crimes....
11:34
Armenia appoints new justice minister
Srbuhi Galyan has been appointed Armenia’s new justice minister. President President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed a relevant decree...
11:15
Iranian leader to attend COP29 in Baku
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the COP29 UN climate summit in Baku, the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan reported....
11:02
Armenian ambassador says he received death threats from Azeri counterpart in Brussels
The Armenian Embassy has lodged a formal protest with other diplomatic missions in Brussels after its ambassador claimed to have been on the...
17:02
Footballer killed by lightning strike at match in Peru
A football player in Peru has died and more have suffered injuries after being struck by lightning during a match on Sunday afternoon, the Daily...
16:46
On the trail of a post about Lori shared by Georgian president
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili shared on Facebook a post by a Georgian travel agency offering tours to Armenia’s Lori Province on...
16:05
Parliament speaker names ruling party's candidate for Gyumri mayor
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party has picked Karen Sarukhanyan, a former governor of Shirak Province, as its candidate for the next...
15:42
Pashinyan criticized for failure to congratulate Moldova's president on re-election
Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist who heads the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly-Vanadzor, on Monday criticized Prime Minister Nikol...
15:07
Car crash in Armenia leaves one dead, three wounded
A tragic car crash in Armenia’s Aragatsotn Province on Monday left one person killed and three others injured. The Rescue Service...
14:36
Yerevan mayor says his 'good looks' could make him a target for corruption rumors
Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan denied allegations of corrupt practices involving him as defamation.  “I guess my good looks...
14:14
Putin to accept credentials from new Armenian envoy on Tuesday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive the letters of credence from 28 newly arrived foreign ambassadors, including Armenian...
13:45
Legendary music producer Quincy Jones dies at 91
Quincy Jones, a titan of American entertainment who worked with stars from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson and Will Smith, has died aged...
13:30
Rain expected in some parts of Armenia on Monday
Rain is forecast for some parts of Armenia on Monday, with snow set to hit the country’s mountainous areas. Clear weather is expected...
13:04
At least 10 killed after volcano erupts in Indonesia
At least 10 people have been killed after a volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia in the early hours of Monday, BBC News reports, citing local...
12:46
ICRC visits Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan
Employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan in October this year....
12:26
Spanish king pelted with eggs in flood-hit Valencia
Angry residents booed and threw eggs at Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia as they visited the Valencia region, where more than 200...
12:10
Political analyst: Azerbaijan sitting on the twine
Political analyst Stepan Danielyan has weighed in on the latest developments regarding the Ukraine conflict. In a social media post on...
11:35
Tatoyan Foundation working to expose Azerbaijan's lies about Artsakh
Specialists of the Tatoyan Foundation are doing extensive work to expose the false Azerbaijani narratives about Armenia and Artsakh...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}