During the session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, 25 States, including the Netherlands, called for the immediate and unconditional release of journalists, human rights defenders and activists in Azerbaijan that have been unjustly detained.
Amongst them is human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in April 2015, on trumped-up charges of “tax evasion”, “abuse of authority”, “illegal entrepreneurship”, and “appropriation”. Aliyev denies all the charges and says they are politically motivated.
Aliyev was arrested in August 2014 and sent to pre-trial detention. His arrest and conviction appear to be related to his work. As a lawyer, he has submitted more than 200 applications to the European Court of Human Rights. Around 40 cases are currently awaiting decision.
Lawyers for Lawyers called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release lawyer Intigam Aliyev and to cease from threatening and (criminally) charging lawyers for exercising their professional activities and their right to freedom of expression as set out in the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
