Azernews.Az

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Azerbaijan has cautioned fellow members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) against using the pretext of human rights to engage in direct interference in the Azerbaijani justice system.

Elkhan Suleymanov, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, issued the warning after a meeting of the PACE Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee in Paris, on December 10, where an informational note about human rights in Azerbaijan was discussed, Trend reports.

The note by Pedro Agramunt, rapporteur on Azerbaijan, was critical of Azerbaijan, stating that the issue of so-called political prisoners in Azerbaijan should be resolved under a legal context and these prisoners should have recourse to the European Court of Human Rights.

"I particularly stressed that the issue of political prisoners is a legal issue and should be resolved on a legal context rather than a political one," Suleymanov said.

He added that despite consensus on this issue, there are forces within PACE using this issue in a deliberate and exaggerated way to politically pressure Azerbaijan, saying that just the title of the information note proves it: "Azerbaijan's Chairmanship of the Council of Europe: What follow-up on respect for human rights?".

"Dear colleagues. Did any out of six hundred PACE members raise the issue of "What follow-up on Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories?" during Armenia's Chairmanship of Council of Europe Committee of Ministers?" he asked.

Suleymanov warned PACE against making sweeping demands for releasing from custody those who are midway through criminal cases, being heard by the Azerbaijani courts. "Such kinds of demands call for the violation of a fair trial for those persons and are direct interference in the course of the investigation," he said.