Azerbaijani Parliament revokes MP’s immunity
By Vugar Khalilov
Azerbaijani Parliament has unanimously revoked MP Eldaniz Salimov’s parliamentary immunity for physical violence against police.
The relevant decision was made on August 3, at the parliament’s extraordinary session in line with the criminal case initiated by Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev.
Addressing the session, Aliyev stated that there are sufficient grounds for stripping off Eldaniz Salimov’s parliamentary immunity. Namely, he said that MP Eldaniz Salimov has applied physical violence against the police officer, who had demanded from Salimov to follow the coronavirus-related quarantine rules.
“The issue has been investigated and a criminal case has been filed. It is necessary to lift Eldaniz Salimov's immunity in order to prosecute him”, the Prosecutor-General said in the Parliament.
The Prosecutor-Gerneral’s Office has initiated a criminal case against Salimov under the Criminal Code’s Article 309.2 (abuse of power).
Following the discussions, the Parliament terminated Eldaniz Salimov’s parliamentary immunity with 98 votes.
Addressing the parliamentary session, MP Malahat Ibrahimgizi stated that the parliament’s reputation must not be overshadowed with such negative cases such as the application of violence against a police officer by an MP.
Chairman of the Labor and Social Policy Committee of the Parliament Musa Guliyev stressed that violence against the police is unacceptable and asked the Prosecutor-General and law enforcement agencies to fully and objectively investigate the incident.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Zahid Oruj noted that the humiliation and beating of the Azerbaijani police should be given a decent response in line with the Constitution.
Earlier it was reported that on the night leading to July 29, MP Salimov beat a police officer who urged him to comply with norms of the quarantine regime.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz