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Today, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the European Parliament has held a meeting within the Summer Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Participating at the sitting, member of Azerbaijani delegation, MP Elkhan Suleymanov told APA that to hold discussions on “political prisoner issue” in Azerbaijan again, is obvious sample of pressure, partiality and double standards against Azerbaijan. “It is directed by the campaign, headed by a group of parliamentarians, namely socialists and their leader, Azerbaijan’s inveterate enemy Andreas Gross. It is not a coincidence that, Christophe Strasser also was a socialist and Gross insisted on his appointment. Now, Michael McNamara as a member of this group, who showers slanders against Azerbaijan, takes a tendentious position and casts stain on the country in the period of Azerbaijan’s presidency and puts forward such a resolution. But, this issue was heard a couple of times both at PACE Bureau and the Committee of Chairmen of the Council of Europe. In all cases, it was decided to send them to the PACE rapporteurs on Azerbaijan”
E. Suleymanov noted that Assembly did not approve the decision of the Bureau, even cancelled it: “This is very occasional case in the history of the Assembly. The draft resolution by McNamara is composition of the disgusting fraud campaign. I think the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has also joined to this campaign. I have a ground to say it. According to the regulation of the Assembly, lunch time is announced at 01:00 pm. The President of the Assembly told head of the Azerbaijani delegation Samad Seyidov in advance that Azerbaijani delegation are invited to attend a luncheon in the honor of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. Samad Seyidov at several minutes to 01:00 pm left for lunch with a delegation. At the same time Turkish delegation members also had a break. Lying in ambush and taking the opportunity, Gross and McNamara with a small group immediately addressed to the president and raised issue to cancel the Bureau’s decision on the draft resolution. Waiting for such a proposal, Anne Brasseur put the case on the voting with a great pleasure and the Bureau’s decision was cancelled, outvoting with just 5 votes. The case was sent to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of PACE.
E. Suleymanov called the incident “a political terror against Azerbaijan”: As, just a year ago, so-called “political prisoner report” by Strasser was entirely ruined but now their passion again in this direction is a position beyond double standards. This is a position of hostility toward Azerbaijan. In my opinion, representation in such a structure will not bring success in the future. “
The deputy also noted that Azerbaijan is open to all speakers: “We are always ready to create all conditions for rapporteurs and cooperate with them. But while the human rights situation in the country is normal, to present it to the world in a distorted form has one goal – to help Armenians. “
Suleymanov also spoke about the draft resolution on sanctions against the Armenian delegation: “I prepared a draft resolution proposing sanctions against the delegation of Armenia, as it was previously done in the case of Russia. But there is massive pressure against its adoption. All this are very obvious”
Apa.az
