Your trusted source

German SPD MP Frank Schwabe, who heads the German delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has denounced the Azerbaijani regime for the imprisonment of human rights activist Anar Mammadli.

"A criminal gang around the illegitimate President Aliyev in Azerbaijan has dared to imprison the winner of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize of the Council of Europe Anar Mammadli. There is no way back for Azerbaijan into the Parliamentary Assembly. Not now and not in January," he posted on X on Tuesday.

In its January 24 session, PACE resolved not to ratify the credentials of Azerbaijan's parliamentary delegation by a vote of 76 to 10, with four abstentions. The body concluded that the country has "not fulfilled major commitments" stemming from its joining the Council of Europe in 2001.

"Very serious concerns remain as to [Azerbaijan's] ability to conduct free and fair elections, the separation of powers, the weakness of its legislature vis-à-vis the executive, the independence of the judiciary and respect for human rights, as illustrated by numerous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and opinions of the Venice Commission," the Parliamentary Assembly said in a resolution.

PACE also cited the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, noting that Azerbaijan’s leadership “did not acknowledge the very serious humanitarian and human rights consequences” stemming from the lack of free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor, and recalling its condemnation of the September 2023 military operation “which led to the flight of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and to allegations of ‘ethnic cleansing’.”