Eldar Zeynalov: "I support the Decree of Pardon, signed by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev"

"I support the decree of pardon of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, because I, as a human rights activist, consider that no other assessment can be made of the decision of the President, which helped over 100 previously imprisoned people to spend the New Year with their families", Eldar Zeynalov, chief of the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan said.

He noted that the decision to pardon any prisoner is a competence of the President of Azerbaijan.

"He considers the list, containing names of certain people, who have a chance to be pardoned. The due state structures prepare report on them, and carry out other works to result in the development of the said list. And only then, by some reasons, this or that prisoner is not included to the list, introduced for signing to the President", Zeynalov said.

He sited the failure of a prisoner to petition for pardon, or any material damage caused by a convicted person to the state or any people, which he/she must compensate to be released, or his/her behavior during imprisonment among reasons for which the people are not included onto the list.

He said answering to the question about the fate of imprisoned reporters, including Eynulla Fatullayev, Mirza Sakit and Ganimat Zahid, that the court examinations of the cases of two of the three aforementioned reporters are currently conducted.

"If the court does not pass a decision to release them, after they pass all court instances, they will have an official right to be pardoned", he noted.

/Day.Az/