The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC) and Cezar Florin Preda (Romania, EPP/CD), have expressed concern over the death of Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Galandarov, who was found hanged in his cell in Baku Detention Centre No. 1 on 28 April.
“When a State deprives persons of their liberty, it has a heightened obligation to protect their human rights, and it is their primary duty to protect the lives of prisoners in its custody,” the co-rapporteurs pointed out. “We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to conduct an effective investigation into the death of Mr Galandarov.”
The rapporteurs will look into this issue during their next visit to Azerbaijan.
