Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 16
Trend:
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on March 16 pardoning 423 people.
Under the decree, 412 people, sentenced to imprisonment, have been freed from serving the remainder of their prison sentences.
Life imprisonment for two people was replaced with 25-year and 15-year imprisonment sentences.
One person was freed from deferred sentence.
Four people were freed from conditional sentence.
Moreover, one person was freed from correctional labor and three people were freed from fines.
Forty foreign citizens are among the pardoned, including 13 citizens of Iran, six citizens of Pakistan, four citizens of Georgia, four citizens of Russia, four citizens of Nigeria, three citizens of China, three citizens of Turkey, two citizens of Uzbekistan and one citizen of Ukraine.
Two activists are among the pardoned.
After reviewing appeals from a number of convicts, their family members, the Commissioner for Human Rights, organizations for human rights, addressed to the president of Azerbaijan, the pardon decision was made proceeding from the principles of humanism, taking into account the personality, health condition, marital status of the convicts and their behavior while serving their sentences, according to the presidential decree.
Azerbaijan’s Justice Ministry and State Migration Service have been tasked to ensure the deportation of foreign citizens freed from serving the remainder of their prison terms, in accordance with the rules set by the Migration Code.
The decree comes into force from the date of its signing.