The S&D Group vice-president, Kati Piri, issued a statement on what she called the unsettling developments on human rights in Azerbaijan.
“We are alarmed by credible reports of severe torture inflicted by Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies on Fuad Gahramanli, the deputy chair of the opposition People’s Front of Azerbaijan (PFA) party. Mr. Gahramanli is one among dozens of the opposition figures arrested by the regime of the President Ilham Aliyev on flimsy charges of preparing a coup, with the leader of the PFA, Ali Karimli, currently unlawfully subjected to a de-facto house arrest,” said the statement.
Given the gravity of the human rights situation in #Azerbaijan, we call on the EU to impose targeted sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for the violent repression of the political opposition and civil society.@KatiPiri reacts ⤵️ https://t.co/hzt0irvMDU
— S&D Group (@TheProgressives) August 2, 2020
“These reprehensible actions constitute part of a systemic pattern of intimidation, harassment and arrests of the opposition members incited by President Aliyev, who repeatedly smeared them in his speeches as a ‘fifth column’ and ‘traitors,’” the statement said.
“In violation of Azerbaijani legislation and the country’s international obligations, they are denied their fundamental rights, such as contact with their lawyers and families. It is unacceptable that President Aliyev is using the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent spike in military tensions with Armenia as an excuse to wipe out what remains of the political opposition in the country,” the statement continued.
“Given the gravity of the situation in Azerbaijan, we call on the Union’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to launch, without delay, an initiative to impose EU-wide targeted human rights sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for the violent repression of the political opposition and civil society in the country,” the S&D Group said.
These declarations, these appeals to The Presidency by two groups of the EU parliament will end up ‘We call Armenia and Azerbaijan to restraint’ or ‘condemn these regrettable incidents’ as at the time of violent massive fraudulent elections in Armenia under autocratic regime, mafia ‘we conclude with our observers of progress. except for a few minor incidents” following the next issue … while all jurists of international public law know that the territory of the karabagh was an “autonomous region” of all time Armenian, while Azerbaijan did not exist, so decreed by the Soviet system of autocratic law, abolished, acted by Azerbaijan. So I, for my part, deduced that there is interest for the powerful states, including the Minsk Group, to maintain indefaitently this situation of neither war nor peace, of decay to the detriment of the two peoples, of the Meres mourning their sons, in particular to defend the interests of the dictatorial family Ali who turns the funds by billions to the detriment of his people , forbidden from any voice of opposition, maintains this belief among its citizens that the Ottoman-style coup de force, under the advice and support of its erdoran “brother”, will be able to extend its territory to the Armenian lands, up to Yerevan. Then? I do not know how to get out of this hell, as strong as we are militarily by the force of our national convictions, this is not the solution, imposed, toleree, maintained for well 30 years
The fall of the two despots Erdogan and Aliyev is near
It is clear that this situation of neither war nor peace, endorsed by the Minsk Group via their states, the EU, UN, NATO, Ali’s daily harassment on our villages, then this military aggression on Davush, the physical quarrels in parliament… are likely to deter any potential investor, whether Armenien or otherwise, so that the social situation is directly, totally impacted. So what to do, I’m unable to think about this impasse.