10 August 2005, 12:34
Candidates denied registration for political reasons
"About 1,000 Azerbaijani citizens will not be able to exercise their electoral right, i.e. the right to be nominated for Member of Parliament. These are persons once convicted for political motives and now released, without, however, their conviction being reversed," Leila Yunus, Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy, told Caucasian Knot's correspondent.
The human rights defender reminded that all the political convicts had been illegally arrested and sentenced to various punishments and terms. "Many of them have been released thanks to demands on the part of the Council of Europe," she said. However, apart from seven opposition leaders, other political prisoners' convictions have not been reversed, which prevents them from taking part in the election campaign. Leila Yunus called on the head of state to solve the problem of political convictions.
Author: Zaur Rasulzade, CK correspondent
