Azernews.Az

BAKU – Head of the Azerbaijani delegation at the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly Samad Seyidov has said whether or not PACE’s rapporteur on alleged political prisoners in the country will continue fulfilling his duties will be clarified during the assembly’s fall session.

Azerbaijani authorities dismiss allegations that there are any political prisoners in Azerbaijan. They say the people identified as political prisoners by some human rights activists and international watchdogs were sentenced for committing crimes.

Christoph Strasser, a German lawmaker who was appointed rapporteur in March 2009, will see his tenure end this fall. Strasser has not visited Azerbaijan since his appointment, as he has not received an official invitation from the government.

Seyidov said Baku will state its unequivocal stance on the issue during the PACE session, which begins on September 15.

"We intend to demand an end to double standards and condemn the attempts to use non-existent issues [political prisoners] as a tool of pressure [on the Azerbaijani government], Seyidov said.

Seyidov said Baku will also express its position at a sitting of the PACE human rights committee due in Paris on September 8. At the meeting, the date of a visit to Azerbaijan by the assembly’s co-rapporteurs Joseph Debono Grech and Pedro Agramunt will be announced.

Christoph Strasser sent a message to Radio Liberty on Tuesday saying that through he had not been invited to visit Azerbaijan, he submitted a visa application to the Azerbaijani embassy in Germany on June 7. According to Strasser, he did not receive a reply immediately and wrote a letter to the diplomatic mission to enquire about his application. On July 18, he received a phone call from the embassy and was told that the visa was denied. But Strasser sought a notification about the visa denial in writing.

"The embassy replied on August 8 that the visa had been denied," Strasser wrote. "The reason was explained as follows: ‘Azerbaijan is opposed to the preparation of a report on political prisoners exclusively pertaining to itself. The lack of criteria to define the concept of political prisoners poses a threat of double standards."

Strasser is currently seeking an invitation from journalist Eynulla Fatullayev to attend a conference in Azerbaijan. Fatullayev, who was recently released from jail and has since established the Social Movement for Human Rights, has told Azerbaijani media that he will organize a civil society conference on November 4 and invite Strasser to attend.

Elman Abdullayev, a spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, told Radio Liberty that Strasser's visa application was rejected because of his mandate.

"Any German citizen can visit Azerbaijan," he said. "But there is no such criterion as a political prisoner. PACE is trying to apply this definition with regard to Azerbaijan. Strasser's visit was deemed meaningless because of its purpose. We think defining his mandate in those terms is [an attempt to] segregate Azerbaijan."

Fazil Mustafa, a reserve member of the Azerbaijani PACE delegation, told Radio Liberty that no obstacles have been created for visits by European diplomats to Azerbaijan. "If the Azerbaijani side has rejected his application, Strasser himself can actively raise the issue with European organizations. It looks as though Strasser himself does not particularly want to visit this country."

Mustafa said Strasser could obtain an invitation from any NGO and pursue his mandate unofficially once he arrived.