PACE sanctions Azerbaijani delegate over corruption allegationsMay 16, 2018 - 16:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The PACE Committee on Rules of Procedure has found that four individual members named in the report of the Independent Investigation Body looking into allegations of corruption within the Assembly have “seriously breached” its Code of Conduct, and ruled that all four should be temporarily deprived of a number of rights in the Assembly – including the right to be appointed or act as a rapporteur, to stand for a number of key posts, or to observe elections. Following a hearing on Tuesday, May 16 in Paris with three of the four members concerned – the fourth had already attended an earlier hearing – the committee decided that the sanctions should apply to Pedro Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) for a period of ten years, and Cezar Florin Preda (Romania, EPP/CD), Samad Seyidov (Azerbaijan, EC) and Jordi Xuclà (Spain, ALDE) for a period of two years. All four, while remaining members of the Assembly with the right to speak, will be banned during these periods from acting as a rapporteur or an election observer, and cannot be Chair or Vice-Chair of any committee or sub-committee, or stand for election as President of the Assembly. They will not be able to represent the Assembly or its committees at any third-party events, and will also be deprived of the right to address questions to the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe’s executive body. This was the second hearing of the Rules Committee concerning the conduct of individual members, using powers in the Assembly’s Code of Conduct, and forms part of the Assembly’s follow-up to the report of the Investigation Body. A first hearing was held in Strasbourg on 25 April 2018. Top stories 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. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |