PACE approves report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan![]() January 30, 2020 - 18:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday, January 30 approved a report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. “There can no longer be any doubt that Azerbaijan has a problem of political prisoners, and that this problem is due to structural and systemic causes,” PACE has declared, urging the authorities to ensure alleged cases are reviewed by an impartial body, and to undertake “fundamental reforms” to fulfil its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. Approving a resolution based on a report by Thorhildur Sunna Aevarsdottir (Iceland, SOC), the Assembly said that – on the basis of factual findings of the European Court of Human Rights – a number of individuals were “political prisoners” according to the Assembly’s definition. The Court also found a “troubling pattern” of politically motivated misuse of the criminal justice system, the parliamentarians pointed out. The Assembly urged the government to ensure lists of alleged political prisoners were reviewed “by an independent and impartial body”, and to release those found to be political prisoners according to its 2012 definition. It urged “a holistic approach” to reforms, addressing problems in the judiciary, the Prosecutor General’s office, the police and the detention system together, “to ensure the non-repetition of politically motivated arbitrary detention, as required by the European Court of Human Rights”. ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |