USA urges government condemnation of attacks on Azeri opposition party
Assa-Irada
11 Aug 05
BAKU
The USA expects a fair investigation into the case of Ruslan Basirli,
chairman of the Yeni Fikir (New Thought) youth movement [believed to
be close to the People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party], charged with
cooperating with Armenian secret service agencies.
“In accord with the rule of law, we expect that the government of
Azerbaijan will conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the
recent allegations raised by the Prosecutor-General’s Office against
the head of the Yeni Fikir organization. Serious allegations should be
addressed in the courts, and not in the media,” the US embassy in Baku
has said.
It also indicated that it expects a fair parliamentary election this
autumn. “We expect that the government of Azerbaijan will pursue fair
and transparent elections in November, according to the principles
laid out in the Azerbaijani election laws and in the presidential
decree of 11 May. This includes condemning unwarranted attacks on
individual parties or political figures and allowing all political
parties to pursue their election campaigns without harassment or
unsubstantiated allegations.”