Andres Herkel welcomes Azerbaijani President’s decree of pardon

Council of Europe will not adopt any document on Azerbaijan or make decision for appointment of special rapporteurs on political prisoner issue until the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, said Andres Herkel, Estonian parliamentarian and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Monitoring Committee co-rapporteur on Azerbaijan in his exclusive interview to APA.

Herkel welcomed the last decree of pardon signed by the President of Azerbaijan and releasing of Rasim Akbarov, whom PACE considers as political prisoner, by this order.

"Rasim Akbarov has serious health problems".

Herkel said it was not completely clear for him why Alexander Umyashkin was arrested.

The co-rapporteur said PACE mission would visit Baku on September 16-17 to evaluate the pre-election atmosphere. Representatives of all PACE political groups are involved in 6-member evaluation mission.

The composition of the observation mission will be approved at the Council of Europe Bureau meeting on September 6.

30-member observation mission led by Herkel doesn’t include another co-rapporteur on Azerbaijan Bulgarian parliamentarian Eugenia Zhivkova.

/APA/