Rights defenders report decrease of political prisoners in Azerbaijan

Since December 2018, the list of political prisoners, compiled by the "Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan" (UFPPA), has reduced by 17 names and contains now 133 persons. Authorities are increasingly resorting not to criminal prosecution of activists, but to arrests of them, rights defenders assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in 2018, the UFPPA, by the International Human Rights Day, marked on December 10, compiled a list of political prisoners containing 150 people.

Since last December, no new political prisoners appeared in it, and 17 people from the previous list were released, Elshan Gasanov, the UFPPA coordinator, has reported, pointing to the release of Mamed Ibrahim, an advisor to the chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), and Telman Shiraliev, a religious activist. Ruslan Nasirli, a PFPA activist, and Vidadi Rustamli, a figurants in the same case, were sentenced conditional imprisonment. After the expiration of their terms, the blogger Mekhman Guseinov, as well as Mikail Idrisov and Emil Mokhbalyev, convicted under the "Said Dadashbeili's case", were released.

Eight believers, convicted in connection with the Nardaran events, and two other persons sentenced to prison terms for participating in protests, were also released.

Earlier, on February 20, the working group of Azerbaijani rights defenders, NGO activists and lawyers published an updated list of political prisoners containing 127 names.