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U.S. SENATORS URGE AZERBAIJAN TO RELEASE POLITICAL ACTIVIST
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 16, 2012 - 17:35 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - A bipartisan group of five U.S. senators has urged
Azerbaijan to release political activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev immediately.
According to RFE/RL, in a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, the senators called Hajiyev's arrest and "cruel treatment"
a breach of his rights to freedom of expression and association.
Hajiyev, 30, is a former parliamentary candidate in the November
2010 election in Azerbaijan and a Harvard University graduate. He
was arrested in March 2011 ahead of a planned demonstration against
the Azerbaijani government that he helped organize.
In May 2011, he was convicted of military service evasion and sentenced
to two years in prison. He has served half of his term.
The senate signatories are led by Mark Kirk (Republican, Illinois)
and Ben Cardin (Democrat, Maryland), and include Barbara Boxer
(Democrat, California), Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, Connecticut),
and Marco Rubio (Republican, Florida).
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 16, 2012 - 17:35 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - A bipartisan group of five U.S. senators has urged
Azerbaijan to release political activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev immediately.
According to RFE/RL, in a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, the senators called Hajiyev's arrest and "cruel treatment"
a breach of his rights to freedom of expression and association.
Hajiyev, 30, is a former parliamentary candidate in the November
2010 election in Azerbaijan and a Harvard University graduate. He
was arrested in March 2011 ahead of a planned demonstration against
the Azerbaijani government that he helped organize.
In May 2011, he was convicted of military service evasion and sentenced
to two years in prison. He has served half of his term.
The senate signatories are led by Mark Kirk (Republican, Illinois)
and Ben Cardin (Democrat, Maryland), and include Barbara Boxer
(Democrat, California), Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, Connecticut),
and Marco Rubio (Republican, Florida).