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Osman Kavala, Turkey
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COVID-19: Rapporteurs call for the immediate release of Osman Kavala after Strasbourg Court decision

13/05/2020 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

PACE monitors for Turkey Thomas Hammarberg (Sweden, SOC) and John Howell (United Kingdom, EC/DA), as well as the General rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in Council of Europe member States Alexandra Louis (France, ALDE), have reacted to the decision of the Grand Chamber of...

Empty Warsaw street
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COVID-19: New date for Polish election should be decided by consensus, say co-rapporteurs

11/05/2020 | Monitoring

PACE’s co-rapporteurs on the functioning of democratic institutions in Poland, Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD) and Azadeh Rojhan Gustafsson (Sweden, SOC), have taken note of the de facto last-minute cancellation of the Presidential election in Poland, due to take place on 10 May 2020. While...

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Baku.
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Rapporteurs welcome acquittals in Azerbaijan but regret the lack of independence of the judiciary

24/04/2020 | Monitoring

The co-rapporteurs on the monitoring of Azerbaijan by PACE, Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC) and Sir Roger Gale (United Kingdom, EC/DA), have welcomed the Azerbaijan Supreme Court's decision to terminate on acquittal grounds the charges against Ilgar Mammadov, leader of the opposition REAL Party...

COVID-19: monitors express concern at the possibility of an election for Polish President under full...

08/04/2020 | Monitoring

Pieter Omtzigt and Azadeh Rojhan Gustafsson have expressed their concern at the possibility that the May 2020 Presidential election in Poland will be organised by postal vote during a full lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as proposed in a draft law adopted by the Polish Sejm.

COVID-19: Monitors urge Turkish authorities to ensure any prisoner release is non-discriminatory

03/04/2020 | Monitoring

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and an expected sanitary crisis in Turkish detention centres, co-rapporteurs Thomas Hammarberg and John Howell have urged the Turkish authorities to ensure that any early or conditional release of prisoners is non-discriminatory and does not exclude prisoners detained on political grounds.

PACE monitors react to so-called ‘elections’ in the Georgian region of Abkhazia

30/03/2020 | Monitoring

The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern, have made the following statement regarding the so-called ‘repeat presidential elections’ in the Georgian region of Abkhazia:

COVID-19: monitors welcome EU Council decision to open membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia

26/03/2020 | Monitoring

The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Albania, Joe O’Reilly and Petter Eide, and the co-rapporteur for post-monitoring dialogue with North Macedonia, Lise Christoffersen, welcome the decision by the Council of the EU to open membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.

COVID-19: Rapporteurs insist on free movement for OSCE monitors in the Donbass

26/03/2020 | Monitoring

The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Ukraine, Dzhema Grozdanova and Alfred Heer, have expressed their serious concern at restrictions on the freedom of movement of OSCE monitors by illegally-armed formations in the Donbass region.

COVID-19: Rapporteurs outraged by the Azerbaijani government’s reliance on the pandemic to justify...

25/03/2020 | Monitoring

Sunna Ævarsdottir, Sir Roger Gale and Stefan Schennach responded to reports that President Ilham Aliyev, in his speech to mark the Nowruz holiday, had proposed the “isolation” of the country’s political opposition as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

PACE monitors for Azerbaijan welcome release of Afgan Mukhtarli

18/03/2020 | Monitoring

The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan by the PACE, Stefan Schennach and Sir Roger Gale, have welcomed the release of Mr Afgan Mukhtarli.

Political agreement between ruling majority and opposition offers a window of opportunity for Georgia

17/03/2020 | Monitoring

“The political agreement between ruling majority and opposition on the 2020 parliamentary elections in Georgia, offers a window of opportunity for Georgia’s democratic consolidation,” said the co-rapporteurs.

Georgia monitors welcome agreement on 2020 elections

10/03/2020 | Monitoring

The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlăţean and Claude Kern, have welcomed the agreement between the Georgian ruling majority and opposition on the election system to be used for the 2020 parliamentary elections.