CoE chief welcomes Aliyev’s pardon decree
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has sent a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev welcoming his pardon decree signed late last year.
"I was informed that you granted amnesty to Mehman Mammadov, Jabbar Savalan and Nizami Shahmuradov as well as others, as part of the end-of-year traditional amnesty," the letter said.
"I would like to congratulate you for this gesture, which has been sought by the Council of Europe for quite some time. We also welcome the adoption on 27 December last year of a National Program to increase the effectiveness of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan."
President Aliyev enacted a pardon decree for 92 people on December 26, 2011. 75 people sentenced to imprisonment and one inmate facing a suspended sentence were pardoned. Also, two people were freed from correctional labor, and the fines of 14 persons were cancelled.
Jagland also wrote that the Council of Europe hopes to develop its cooperation with Azerbaijan.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!