The spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, held in Strasburq, continues its work today. The agenda includes discussions on the situation in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, increasing support for Ukraine, tightening sanctions against Russia, concerns over the implementation of the death penalty in Israel, combating the financing of international terrorism, and political rights. In addition, reports on elections held in Bulgaria and Kosovo have been presented to Assembly members.
Human rights defender Ahmad Shahidov, who is closely following the session in Strasbourg, stated in an interview with REAL TV that despite the broad agenda, biased approaches toward Azerbaijan are still evident in some speeches: “The agenda is quite comprehensive, with international security issues at the forefront. However, statements made about Azerbaijan at the PACE platform are often far from objective and reflect a one-sided perspective”.
Ahmad Shahidov also noted that statements regarding certain individuals detained in Azerbaijan, as well as the presentation of Armenian-origin detainees held in Baku – including Ruben Vardanyan, Araik Harutyunyan, Bako Saakyan and others – by European parliamentarians as “political prisoners,” “prisoners of war,” and “prisoners of conscience,” demonstrate the continuation of this bias: “This shows that PACE continues its policy of double standards towards Azerbaijan. One of the main reasons why the Azerbaijani delegation suspended its activities in the Assembly a few years ago was precisely this approach”.
