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PACE welcomes the latest pardon decree in Azerbaijan

22 March 2010 18:03 (UTC +04:00)

However, they regretted that Eynulla Fatullayev, was not among those released.
â€œEvery step made by Azerbaijan in this direction helps bring the Council of Europe closer to its aspiration of being an area free of political prisoners,â€ said Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC), co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, and Christoph StrÃ¤sser (Germany, SOC), rapporteur on the follow-up to the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
They pointed out that President Aliyev had already pardoned 99 prisoners by decree on Christmas Day 2009, including some whose cases had been raised by the Assembly, or who appeared on the lists of alleged political prisoners drawn up by local human rights NGOs.