Human rights activists consider convicted oppositionists political prisoners

Human rights activists and international organizations consider the sentence passed on leaders of the Azerbaijan opposition unfair. Commenting on the court decision to the Caucasian Knot correspondent, director of the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan Eldar Zeinalov said that "the sentence passed on seven leaders of opposition political parties has political motives, and the convicts themselves are political prisoners." "They've already been listed as political prisoners by the Federation of Human Rights Organizations of Azerbaijan," Mr Zeinalov added.

Human rights activist Elchin Bekhbudov noted that "the Azerbaijan authorities showed the world one more time they can easily neglect international public opinion and disregard PACE recommendations. The indeterminate and ambiguous position taken by international agencies in recent years has made for the authorities' neglecting public opinion and easily violating any democratic norms."

During its 2004 autumn session, the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) passed a resolution urging to release or pardon the seven opposition leaders and 33 people already convicted in the aftermath of the developments of the autumn of 2003.