Azerbaijan pardons almost 120 prisoners

By RIA Novosti

Baku : Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has pardoned 119 prisoners, including five journalists, his press service said on Saturday.


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Among the released prisoners are editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Mukhalifet (Opposition) Rovshan Kebirli convicted of defamation and libel, and editor-in-chief of the Senet newspaper Samir Sadagetoglu convicted of inciting racial, religious and social hatred.

Many local and international human rights organizations earlier demanded the release of the journalists, who had been allegedly imprisoned for their professional activities.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has already praised the amnesty saying that the move would improve the human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

Three other journalists still remain in custody in the former Soviet Caucasus republic – editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijan Daily newspaper Einulla Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of the oppositional Azadlyg newspaper Ganimat Zakhidov and his brother, a staff member on the same newspaper.

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