Azernews.Az

Some countries are trying to take advantage of the "political prisoner" issue to exert pressure on Azerbaijan, First Vice-Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov says.
Asgarov told a parliamentary sitting on Friday that he had recently asked visiting members of a Council of Europe (CE) delegation to elaborate on their understanding of the term. They replied that the criteria set by the CE's influential experts were the basis for determining who fits in that category.
"Subjective criteria set by any given lawyer could not be considered law for us," the vice-speaker said. "There is no notion of political prisoners in the world, and it was just made up. Bringing up the issue is simply used as grounds to interfere with Azerbaijan's internal affairs."
Asgarov said all the steps being taken in the country were in line with the law. He stressed that the "political prisoner" term is not included in the national legislation either. He said the amnesty announced earlier for persons included by international experts in the list of "political prisoners" did not imply that the government sees them as such. "These individuals are not any different than thousands of other inmates pardoned under a presidential decree."
Asgarov noted that some human rights groups operating in Azerbaijan played a role in bringing the issue into spotlight and called them "speculators of human rights".
"Those persons are receiving hefty grants for that, as some forces want the political prisoner issue to remain on the agenda in Azerbaijan forever," the vice-speaker added.