Implement urgently the interim measure of the European Court of Human Rights and release Gubad Ibadoghlu and other political prisoners in Azerbaijan

Written declaration No. 796 | Doc. 15980 | 22 April 2024

Signatories:

Mr Volker ULLRICH, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Boriana ÅBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, Iceland, SOC ; Ms Maryna BARDINA, Ukraine, ALDE ; Ms Marianne BINDER-KELLER, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Mr Jone BLIKRA, Norway, SOC ; Mr Iulian BULAI, Romania, ALDE ; Ms Maria Cristina CARETTA, Italy, EC/DA ; Mr Christophe CHAILLOU, France, SOC ; Mr Yves CRUCHTEN, Luxembourg, SOC ; Ms Andrea EDER-GITSCHTHALER, Austria, EPP/CD ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Ms Anna EFTHYMIOU, Greece, EPP/CD ; Ms Heike ENGELHARDT, Germany, SOC ; Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Gustaf GÖTHBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Jürgen HARDT, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Max LUCKS, Germany, SOC ; Ms Lucrezia MANTOVANI, Italy, EC/DA ; Ms Octavie MODERT, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Ms Catarina dos SANTOS-WINTZ, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Mr Evripidis STYLIANIDIS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Ms Derya TÜRK-NACHBAUR, Germany, SOC ; Ms Gala VELDHOEN, Netherlands, SOC

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

On 23 July 2023, Gubad Ibadoghlu, a prominent opposition figure, was detained in Baku. He has been in detention since then. On 20 September 2023, the European Court of Human Rights indicated interim measures ordering Azerbaijan’s government to transfer him to a hospital because of “an imminent risk of irreparable damage” and a “threat to life.”

Already on 24 August 2023, the Parliamentary Assembly’s General Rapporteur for political prisoners Ms Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC) called for his immediate release: “Despite having recently undergone heart surgery and suffering from numerous medical conditions, there are reports that Mr Ibadoghlu does not have access to adequate food and has experienced rapid weight loss (…) I call on the Azerbaijani Government to take all steps necessary to drop politically motivated charges and secure his immediate release.”

So far, the Azerbaijani Government has ignored the European Court of Human Rights and all appeals from the Assembly. The release of political prisoners is also a precondition for the delegation of Azerbaijan to return to the Assembly.

We urge the Committee of Ministers to insist on the immediate implementation of the interim measures indicated by the European Court of Human Rights, and on the release of Mr Ibadoghlu from pretrial detention to allow him to be taken to a hospital in the European Union.