Human rights organizations call on President of Azerbaijan to release all political prisoners
Human rights organization issued a joint statement calling for the release of the remaining political prisoners in Azerbaijan who were not included in President Ilham Aliyev’s pardon on March 17th, Ekho Kavkaza reported.
The joint statement issued by the 21 organizations welcomes Aliyev’s pardon, though it calls for the additional release of the political prisoners still being held in Azerbaijani prisons.
“We are incredibly relieved for those released yesterday, including Rasul Jafarov, who was arrested in August 2014 after launching our campaign to draw attention to human rights abuses taking place in Azerbaijan. But none of these 15 people ever should have been arrested in the first place, and dozens more remain unjustly jailed now, neglected by this pardon decree. They must be released, and this vicious cycle of politically motivated arrests must end”, said Rebecca Vincent, coordinator of the Sport for Rights campaign, as cited in the statement.
The statement called for the “immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, and for an end to the cycle of politically motivated arrests in Azerbaijan.”
The group of organizations also urged the international community to put pressure on Baku to release the remaining political prisoners and to pursue reforms to improve the country’s human rights situations.
According to Human Rights Watch’s 2015 report, Azerbaijan’s already dismal human rights record has deteriorated significantly over the last several years. The organization reported that freedom of the press and association are hampered, and the country’s list of human rights violations includes the prosecution of government critics and the torture and ill-treatment of prisoners.