Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 24 / Trend /
CE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland sent a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"I was informed that you granted amnesty to Mehman Mammadov, Jabbar Savalan and Nizami Shahmuradov as well as others, as part of the end-of-year traditional amnesty," the letter said.
"I would like to congratulate you for this gesture, which has been sought by the Council of Europe for quite some time. We also welcome the adoption on 27 December last year of a National Programme to increase the effectiveness of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan."
"As you may know, we are discussing a new Action Plan which, I hope, will further enhance cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe and will allow for more progress to be realized in this field," the letter said.
"I therefore look forward to launching this new Action Plan together with you in Baku in due course.
I should also like to take this opportunity to express the hope that the Memorandum of Understanding - which will soon be signed between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe - will enable our office in Baku to become fully functional."