US senators call on Baku to release well-known activists from prisons

Sixteen US senators have appealed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and called on him to release journalists and activists from prisons and to ensure respect for human rights in the country.

In their letter to Ilham Aliev, the US Senators mention the names of human rights activists Anar Mamedli, Leyla and Arif Yunus, Intigam Aliev, and Rasul Jafarov.

The authors of the appeal note that over the past year, numerous Azerbaijani human rights organizations constantly declared the systematic suppression of human rights, civil society and independent media in Azerbaijan. "We join these voices and call on you to respect these fundamental rights, to immediate release the journalists, activists, and civil society leaders in custody. This act would remove a serious obstacle to the strengthening of the US-Azerbaijani relations," the US senators' appeal states.

The appeal was drawn up on the initiative of Senator Richard Durbin.

The call of the US senators was also supported by the international human rights organization "Freedom Now" based in Washington.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.