23 April 2015, 15:15
Rights defenders urge Azerbaijani authorities to release Intigam Aliev
The international human rights organizations have condemned the imposition of the verdict of guilty against Intigam Aliev in Azerbaijan and urged the authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 22, the court in Baku found Intigam Aliev, the head of the non-profit organization (NPO) "Society of Legal Education", guilty of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurial activities, misappropriation or embezzlement on a large scale and sentenced him to 7.5 years of imprisonment in a common-security penal colony.
The rights defenders do not doubt that Intigam Aliev has been sentenced on politically motivated charges. According to the HRW, Intigam Aliev used to be engaged in compilation of the list of political prisoners, together with rights defenders Leyla Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, and journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who were also imprisoned.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OBS) (joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), has also condemned the verdict of guilty against Intigam Aliev and called it "a shameful verdict".
According to the human right organization "Amnesty International" (AI), the fact that rights defender Intigam Aliev, who openly criticized the authorities of Azerbaijan, was sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment demonstrates the Azerbaijani government's desire to silence all the critics on the eve of the European Games.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
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