PACE reps say discussed bloggers’ case with Azeri president
The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) for Azerbaijan, Andres Herkel and Joseph Debono
Grech, have said they had discussed the case of two young jailed
bloggers during their meeting with President Ilham Aliyev on
Wednesday.
"We had a friendly meeting with Ilham Aliyev. We discussed the bloggers’ trial, the execution of court rulings and other issues. We agreed on some issues and disagreed on some others," Herkel told a news conference on the outcomes of the rapporteurs’ visit to Azerbaijan at the CE Baku office on Thursday. He did not elaborate on other details of their discussions with the president.
A Baku court in November 2009 sentenced Emin Milli, an ANTV Online TV blogger and coordinator in the youth organization Alumni Network, to two-and-a-half years in prison, while video blogger Adnan Hajizade, was sentenced to two years in prison. The activists were charged with hooliganism and an assault on two other men. However, international rights champions and organizations have claimed that the bloggers’ arrest was due to their critical writings on the Internet.
Herkel said Azerbaijani officials had agreed with only one point in their criticism, which is described as poor execution of court rulings.
Grech, the newly-appointed PACE co-rapporteur for Azerbaijan, said he was not inclined to elaborate on the impressions from his first visit to the country, adding that he would analyze his findings and express them in the report that will be submitted to the PACE session in June.
During their four-day visit, which aimed to monitor progress in Azerbaijan’s implementing its CE commitments, Herkel and Grech met with the leaders of political parties, NGOs and media outlets, as well as held meetings in Ganja, the country’s second largest city.*
"We had a friendly meeting with Ilham Aliyev. We discussed the bloggers’ trial, the execution of court rulings and other issues. We agreed on some issues and disagreed on some others," Herkel told a news conference on the outcomes of the rapporteurs’ visit to Azerbaijan at the CE Baku office on Thursday. He did not elaborate on other details of their discussions with the president.
A Baku court in November 2009 sentenced Emin Milli, an ANTV Online TV blogger and coordinator in the youth organization Alumni Network, to two-and-a-half years in prison, while video blogger Adnan Hajizade, was sentenced to two years in prison. The activists were charged with hooliganism and an assault on two other men. However, international rights champions and organizations have claimed that the bloggers’ arrest was due to their critical writings on the Internet.
Herkel said Azerbaijani officials had agreed with only one point in their criticism, which is described as poor execution of court rulings.
Grech, the newly-appointed PACE co-rapporteur for Azerbaijan, said he was not inclined to elaborate on the impressions from his first visit to the country, adding that he would analyze his findings and express them in the report that will be submitted to the PACE session in June.
During their four-day visit, which aimed to monitor progress in Azerbaijan’s implementing its CE commitments, Herkel and Grech met with the leaders of political parties, NGOs and media outlets, as well as held meetings in Ganja, the country’s second largest city.*
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