Experts: Azerbaijan unlikely leaves CE

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev believes that the withdrawal from the Council of Europe (CE) will not affect the life of the country in any way. The withdrawal from the CE will deprive Azerbaijani citizens of the right to apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and will complicate the receipt of Schengen visas, and the authorities will face political and, perhaps, economic problems. This opinion is expressed by experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

On October 4, at a meeting with the delegation of the Political and Security Committee (PSC) of the Council of the European Union, Ilham Aliev announced that Azerbaijan could leave the Council of Europe.

The president called the criticism of Azerbaijan for human rights violations a "prejudiced attitude."

Thorbjørn Jagland, Council of Europe Secretary General, has called on the CE Committee of Ministers to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan because of the country's failure to fulfil the ECtHR's decision in the case of Ilgar Mamedov, the "ReAl" leader.

Rasul Jafarov, the head of the Human Rights Club, has expressed his doubts the reality for the prospect of the Azerbaijan's withdrawal from the Council of Europe on its own initiative.

The tension between Baku and the Council of Europe will not result in the withdrawal of Azerbaijan from the organization. This opinion has been expressed by Togrul Juvarli, a member of the Azerbaijan National Committee for European Integration (ANCEI).

According to the expert, the Council of Europe has already imposed sanctions against Russia and is not interested in confronting Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan will have to comply with its obligations, since the withdrawal from the Council of Europe will affect the country's relations with the European Union, believes Emin Guseinov, the executive director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), a rights defender and a forced emigrant.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.