Azernews.Az

Akbar Novruz

Read more

Azerbaijan has strongly condemned the statement made by Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty on April 29, 2025, regarding certain investigative cases and court decisions in the country, Azernews reports.

The response came from the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aykhan Hajizadeh, who labeled the remarks as “unacceptable, unfounded and completely biased.”

“The statement in question is another failed attempt to interfere in the internal affairs and judicial processes of Azerbaijan,” Hajizadeh said. “In accordance with national legislation and international obligations, human rights and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed and fully respected in the Republic of Azerbaijan. At the same time, the said rights and freedoms are protected by the well-established judicial institutions of Azerbaijan, which operate independently to fulfill their duties.”

He emphasized that no one is above the law: “The guarantee of the rule of law provided by Azerbaijan on its sovereign territories does not grant special privileges to certain individuals for their professional activities, nor does it exempt them from complying with the requirements of the country's laws.”

Refuting the Commissioner’s claims, Hajizadeh noted that, “The statement of the Commissioner for Human Rights has charged the individuals named in the statement with gross violations of the requirements of the relevant legislation, relevant investigations have been conducted in strict compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, and all their rights before the court have been fully ensured.”

He concluded with a direct call to the Council of Europe: “We call on the Council of Europe High Commissioner for Human Rights to refrain from interfering in ongoing investigations by independent judicial bodies in Azerbaijan, as well as from attempts to exert unacceptable pressure, and instead to focus attention on the numerous systemic human rights problems in a number of other CoE countries, the growing Islamophobia, the degrading treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, political persecution, deaths in prisons, widespread corruption in European institutions, etc.”