EU High officials issue a statement on detention of Anar Mammadli, EMDS chairman and member of EaP Civil Society Forum in Azerbaijan

Spokespersons of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Štefan Füle have issued a statement on the detention of Mr Anar Mammadli, chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre in Azerbaijan.

‘The High Representative and the Commissioner are very concerned at the arrest of Mr. Anar Mammadli, Chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre, on 16 December and by the Court's decision to sentence Mr. Mammadli to three months' pretrial detention in the absence of his lawyer’, a statement says.

‘The High Representative and Commissioner Füle call upon the Azerbaijan authorities to ensure a speedy, fair, transparent and independent investigation of the charges against Mr. Mammadli, free of political influence and prejudice while fully respecting due process’, it continues.

‘The EU will closely monitor the case of Mr. Mammadli as well as other ongoing legal procedures in Azerbaijan involving civil society organisations and individuals’, the statement concludes.

Earlier this week Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum has issued a statement protesting strongly about the three months’ detention order imposed on Anar Mammadli, the head of the Election Monitoring and Democratic Studies Center (EMDS) in Azerbaijan, and his subsequent imprisonment on 16 December 2013. The Statement urged the authorities to immediately free Anar Mammadli, and to drop all charges against him.

Statement

EaP CSF Statement

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