04 March 2004, 23:58
Popular Front Party: report by US Department of State confirms mass human rights violations in Azerbaijan
The 2003 report by the US Department of State on the situation in Azerbaijan confirms mass violations of human rights and democratic principles in the country, reads the statement published by the Popular Front Party (reformers) on March 2. "The Department of State fairly prejudices results of the past presidential election and the legitimacy of the power, points to gross human rights violations, the infringement of freedom of assembly, politically-motivated arrests of people, the use of torture against them, pressure on the press, and, above all, to the fact that the Azerbaijan people are deprived of their right to the peaceful change of power in the country," reads the statement.
The Azerbaijan Popular Front Party also laid strictures on the attempt by Azerbaijan authorities to prejudice the objectivity of the report by the Department of State. The Party called upon the authorities to give up the actions aimed at "oppressing democratic values."
Source: Rosbalt News Agency
