Azerbaijan Pardons Political Prisoners

Azerbaijan Pardons Political Prisoners, The United States welcomes Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s March 23rd decree pardoning 114 prisoners, including all those jailed after election-related demonstrations in October 2003. This is an important step toward developing open political dialogue in advance of parliamentary elections in November. We applaud efforts to resolve the question of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

We urge Azerbaijan’s government to build on this positive step by promoting democracy and stability through political dialogue, restoring freedom of assembly and freedom of the press, respecting human rights and conducting a transparent parliamentary election meeting international democratic standards.

2005/342 Released on March 23, 2005 Press Statement Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman Washington, DC March 23, 2005