Heads Of 21 Schools Demand To Release Their Azeri Colleague

HEADS OF 21 SCHOOLS DEMAND TO RELEASE THEIR AZERI COLLEAGUE

19:08 | April 2,2015 | Politics

The regular meeting of the Heads of Schools of Political Studies of
the Council of Europe ended in Budva, Montenegro.

Azerbaijan should immediately release Ilgar Mammadov who was wrongfully
imprisoned on politically motivated charges, the Association of
Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe (ASPS) said
today in Budva.

The Association, which groups Heads of 21 Schools in Europe and
North Africa, called on Azerbaijan to respect its commitments to the
Council of Europe and implement the ruling of the European Court of
Human Rights which found that the arrest and detention of their Azeri
colleague in 2013 breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Azerbaijani Government must free Mammadov and all the other human
rights defenders, journalists and opposition leaders illegally held
in Azeri gaols on spurious charges before the forthcoming Baku Games,
the Directors said. Failure to do so would bring both Azerbaijan and
the European Games into disrepute.

The ASPS also condemned attempts to muzzle the media and intimidate
NGOs in a number of Council of Europe countries including Turkey and
Russia where the Foreign Agents legislation has forced the Moscow
School to cease its activities.

Authoritarian acts of this nature undermine the most basic principles
of democratic life and are in complete contradiction with the values
of the Council of Europe, the ASPS said.

The Council of Europe and the European Union must ensure full
respect for human rights including freedom of expression, freedom of
association, freedom of the media and independence of the judiciary
in all their member states, the Directors concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress