AZERBAIJAN: EU PARLIAMENT SAYS FREE ILGAR MAMMADOV NOW STRASBOURG 13.06.2013: The European Parliament this evening strongly condemned the detention of the Director of the Baku School of Political Studies, Ilgar Mammadov, and called for his immediate and unconditional release. The Azerbaijani authorities, said the Parliament, should put an end to the prosecution of Mr Mammadov who heads the opposition REAL Movement and had been confirmed as its candidate for the country’s October 2013 presidential elections. Mr Mammadov was arrested on 4 February 2013 along with Tofig Yaqublu, deputy Chair of the Musavat opposition party, accused of inciting riots in the town of Ismaili, and have been unlawfully detained since then, says the Resolution adopted just days before Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is due to visit Brussels. The European Parliament said the overall human rights situation in Azerbaijan has deteriorated continuously over the last few years with both NGOs and independent media facing growing pressure and intimidation engendering a widespread sense of fear among opposition forces, human rights defenders and other groups. Voicing serious concern about the use of fabricated charges against politicians, activists and journalists, the Parliament called on Azerbaijan: to respect freedom of the press and media both on and off-line; to secure freedom of expression; to reform its defamation legislation; to respect fully freedom of assembly; to bring election legislation into line with international standards and ensure its full implementation. The Resolution also specifically called on European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, to speak out on the EU’s human rights concerns over Azerbaijan during President Aliyev’s visit to Brussels on 21 June 2013.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:50:31 +0000
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