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Opposition leader facing pressure from prison officials to sign
confession requesting pardon from President
13:24 16/03/2015 >> LAW
The government of Azerbaijan must comply with international demands
and immediately set free prominent opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov,
after the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe made a
second call demanding his release, the human rights organization
Amnesty International's statement reads.
It is highlighted in the statement that the Azerbaijani authorities
have ignored several requests for Mammadov's release by the Council of
Europe following a European Court of Human Rights ruling that he had
been arrested without any evidence and that the actual purpose of his
detention had been to silence or punish him for criticising the
government.
"President Ilham Aliyev had the audacity to stand before the Council
of Europe last year and declare that freedom of expression,
association and assembly are assured in Azerbaijan. These have proven
to be empty words as his government has continued to openly defy the
European Court of Human Rights by refusing to release Ilgar Mammadov,"
said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International's Deputy Director of
Europe and Central Asia Program.
As the statement reads, keeping an innocent man in prison is an
ultimate act of disrespect for fundamental human rights. Ilgar
Mammadov is behind bars for lawfully exercising his right to freedom
of expression and must urgently be released.
Ilgar Mammadov's lawyer recently told Amnesty International that his
client is facing continuous pressure from prison officials to sign a
confession requesting a pardon from President Ilham Aliyev in exchange
for his release. He has refused as this would amount to him
recognizing his "guilt." The lawyer added that Ilgar Mammadov's health
is deteriorating because he is being held in a crowded, smoke-filled
cell, along with 20 other inmates, the statement reports.
The organization reports that Ilgar Mammadov was arrested on 4
February 2013, on charges of inciting mass violence, after he
travelled to report on street riots which had broken out in northwest
Azerbaijan the previous day. Ilgar Mammadov was sentenced to seven
years in prison by Sheki Court in Baku in March 2014. The European
Court of Human Rights ruled in May 2014 that his arrest contravened
the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgment became final on
13 October 2014, when the Strasbourg Court rejected the appeal from
the government of Azerbaijan. The Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe demanded his release "without delay" on 4 December
2014. This request was ignored.
Related:
Committee of Ministers of CoE adopts resolution in case of arrested
Azerbaijani opposition politician
PACE condemns termination of Azerbaijani lawyer's activities who was
defending civil society activists
Azerbaijani authorities blame oppositionists Tofig Yagublu and Ilgar
Mamedov in organizing riots in Ismayilli; they are arrested
http://www.panorama.am/en/law/2015/03/16/amnesty-azerbaijan/
confession requesting pardon from President
13:24 16/03/2015 >> LAW
The government of Azerbaijan must comply with international demands
and immediately set free prominent opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov,
after the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe made a
second call demanding his release, the human rights organization
Amnesty International's statement reads.
It is highlighted in the statement that the Azerbaijani authorities
have ignored several requests for Mammadov's release by the Council of
Europe following a European Court of Human Rights ruling that he had
been arrested without any evidence and that the actual purpose of his
detention had been to silence or punish him for criticising the
government.
"President Ilham Aliyev had the audacity to stand before the Council
of Europe last year and declare that freedom of expression,
association and assembly are assured in Azerbaijan. These have proven
to be empty words as his government has continued to openly defy the
European Court of Human Rights by refusing to release Ilgar Mammadov,"
said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International's Deputy Director of
Europe and Central Asia Program.
As the statement reads, keeping an innocent man in prison is an
ultimate act of disrespect for fundamental human rights. Ilgar
Mammadov is behind bars for lawfully exercising his right to freedom
of expression and must urgently be released.
Ilgar Mammadov's lawyer recently told Amnesty International that his
client is facing continuous pressure from prison officials to sign a
confession requesting a pardon from President Ilham Aliyev in exchange
for his release. He has refused as this would amount to him
recognizing his "guilt." The lawyer added that Ilgar Mammadov's health
is deteriorating because he is being held in a crowded, smoke-filled
cell, along with 20 other inmates, the statement reports.
The organization reports that Ilgar Mammadov was arrested on 4
February 2013, on charges of inciting mass violence, after he
travelled to report on street riots which had broken out in northwest
Azerbaijan the previous day. Ilgar Mammadov was sentenced to seven
years in prison by Sheki Court in Baku in March 2014. The European
Court of Human Rights ruled in May 2014 that his arrest contravened
the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgment became final on
13 October 2014, when the Strasbourg Court rejected the appeal from
the government of Azerbaijan. The Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe demanded his release "without delay" on 4 December
2014. This request was ignored.
Related:
Committee of Ministers of CoE adopts resolution in case of arrested
Azerbaijani opposition politician
PACE condemns termination of Azerbaijani lawyer's activities who was
defending civil society activists
Azerbaijani authorities blame oppositionists Tofig Yagublu and Ilgar
Mamedov in organizing riots in Ismayilli; they are arrested
http://www.panorama.am/en/law/2015/03/16/amnesty-azerbaijan/