Turan Information Agency. Azerbaijan
April 17, 2015 Friday

Official Baku has accused the US of interfering in the internal
affairs of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to the statement by US State
Department spokesman Marie Harf related to the conviction of the human
rights activist Rasul Jafarov in Azerbaijan.

This statement of US State Department is only surprising, the Foreign
Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said.

In the Republic of Azerbaijan the rule of law, fundamental freedoms
and the independence of the judiciary are ensured.

In Azerbaijan, no one is persecuted for his political activities and
views. Azerbaijan is fully in compliance with commitments made at the
international level, continued Hajiyev.

According to him, Jafarov was prosecuted for tax evasion,
misappropriation and other illegal actions, and this was proved in
court.

All are equal before the law and human rights activities are not
exempt from liability under the law.

“This statement by the US State Department goes beyond the rule of law
and is intended to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan,”
said Hajiyev.

The United States, calling for the implementation of international
commitments, must first demand from Armenia occupying our lands in
violation of the norms and principles of international law, the UN
Charter and the Helsinki Final Act to withdraw its troops from the
occupied territories.

In continuation of the occupation and the aggressive policy, Armenia
again conducts provocative military exercises in the occupied areas
and the United States does not react to that.

It would be better if, showing such great interest to individual
criminal facts, the United States gave due attention to rights
violations as a result of Armenian aggression, regarding more than 1
million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons, the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s representative stated in conclusion.
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