PACE levels sharp criticism at Azerbaijan

A report made by members of the PACE Monitoring Committee Andreas Gross and Andres Herkel was discussed during the session of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) in Strasbourg yesterday, October 5.

The PACE adopted a tough resolution urging the country's authorities:

• to investigate frauds committed in the course of the 2003 presidential election and justly punish people involved in them, including members of the Central Election Commission;
• to investigate torture and disparagement in the course of the election campaign and 2003 presidential election and punish the guilty;
• to release and pardon 33 sentenced oppositionists accused by the authorities of participating in riots on October 15-16, 2003;
• to respect the people's right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly;
• to solve the problem of political prisoners once and for all;
• to give freedom of action to independent and opposition media;
• to provide effective guarantees of the independence of courts;
• to publish full results of the 2003 election by polling stations and admit serious violations of the law.

The Council of Europe gave a positive assessment of the recent pardon decrees, pointing out it was not enough for the total solution of the problem of political prisoners. Reforms are conducted very slowly, therefore the reporters proposed that the PACE should return to the issue of Azerbaijan's honoring commitments one more time on the eve of the parliamentary elections.