You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Azerbaijan pardons eight 'political prisoners'
2012-12-28
[Pak Daily Times] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday pardoned eight people allegedly incarcerated
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
for political reasons in the ex-Soviet republic regularly accused of rights violations, state media said.

Among those freed were human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
campaigners Vivadi Iskandarov and Taleh Khasmammadov, state news agency AzerTaj said. Also pardoned was Anar Bayramli, an Azerbaijani citizen working as a news hound for Iranian television who was incarcerated
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
on drugs charges amid tensions between Islamic but officially secular Baku and neighbour Tehran. The others set free included an opposition party member and religious activists in the mainly Moslem country, which has sought to prevent the rise of Islamic radicalism and is a partner in the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
-led mission in Afghanistan.

The prisoners were pardoned as part of an amnesty of 87 people, although dozens more alleged political prisoners remain in jail, including Hilal Mamedov, a newspaper editor and rights activist. The Azerbaijani authorities led by strongman Aliyev have often been accused by international rights groups of silencing dissent, persecuting journalists and jailing opponents.
Posted by:Fred

00:00