PACE rapporteur on political prisoners denied visit to Azerbaijan

Panorama, Armenia
June 7 2019

Þórhildur Sunna, a special rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has been denied a visit to Baku, since the Azerbaijani authorities considered the dates of her visit ‘inconvenient’ due to a public holiday celebrated in the country on 4-5 June.

“Disappointed to have to postpone again my visit to #Azerbaijan to discuss #PoliticalPrisoners with authorities & #CivilSociety. Authorities said the dates had become inconvenient due to a recently announced public holiday. Look forward to visiting in September!” the Icelandic politician tweeted.

Sunna was appointed a PACE rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan in June 2018 following a corruption probe conducted by the organization.

Earlier in 2013, the PACE rejected a report on Azerbaijan’s political prisoners prepared by German deputy Christoph Strasser amid Azerbaijan’s bribing of some deputies. 

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