Council of Europe official, Azeri leader discuss democratization, relations

Turan news agency, Baku
6 May

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammerberg and
President Ilham Aliyev discussed the process of democratization in
Azerbaijan and its relations with the Council of Europe at a meeting
in Baku on 5 May, the Azerbaijani news agency Turan has reported.

After the meeting with the president, Hammerberg met a group of
Azerbaijani rights activists. The meeting discussed the problem of
political prisoners, the refusal of the UN to admit Azerbaijan to
its human rights council, the situation surrounding members of the
pro-opposition Yeni Fikir youth organization charged with cooperation
with the Armenian intelligence service, the absence of an independent
judiciary system in Azerbaijan and the health of the former ministers
arrested on coup charges, rights advocate Novella Cafaroglu told Turan.