Brussels, 21/10/ 2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 October, the European Union welcomed the amnesty announced on 17 October by the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, that will see the rehabilitation and release of around 80 prisoners, at least a quarter of whom are civil society activists. The amnesty is a first positive step towards a change in the direction of the last few months, said the spokespersons for the high representative and the enlargement commissioner. They urged the Azeri authorities to build on this measure and extend it to people belonging to civil society organisations who are currently imprisoned. The leader of the non-governmental organisation Intelligent Citizen Hasan Huseynli, whose release was called for by the European Parliament (see EUROPE 11159), is among those amnestied. However, human rights activist Leyla Yunus, a Sakharov Prize finalist in 2014, remains in prison.
Sharing Azerbaijan's wish for a stable, safe and prosperous future, the spokespersons made it clear that open and inclusive national dialogue, in line with Azerbaijan's commitments as a member and president in office of the Council of Europe, is the best way to achieve this objective. (CG)