BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 21
Trend:
All human rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of assembly, have been ensured in young, democratic Azerbaijan, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend on Oct. 21.
Abdullayeva was commenting on the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights’ statement.
The spokesperson emphasized that the right to freedom of assembly of a group of people cannot be ensured by violating the rights of another group of people.
“The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights must know about this very well,” Abdullayeva added.
“Having considered the appeal of a group of people for holding a rally on October 19, other territory was chosen for holding this rally in Baku because holding of rallies in protected metro zones is prohibited in accordance with article 9 of the law “On freedom of assembly”,” the spokesperson said.
“The individuals who applied for holding a rally tried to move along the central streets of the city to create clashes and law enforcement agencies were forced to stop these illegal actions,” Abdullayeva said.
“The police acted politely and no one was injured severely,” the spokesperson. “The vast majority of the protesters were released after an official warning, while relevant decisions will be made regarding the rest of the individuals.”
“It would be better for the Commissioner to draw attention to the use of rubber bullets and violence against demonstrators in Europe,” Abdullayeva said.
“Without understanding the essence of the issue and without first knowing the position of the official structures, some organizations made hasty and unreasonable statements,” the spokesperson said. “This fact in no way can be called useful, on the contrary, this must be assessed as the application of double standards in relation to Azerbaijan.”
“I reiterate that fundamental rights and freedoms of people are ensured in Azerbaijan, while the main task of law enforcement agencies is to protect these freedoms,” Abdullayeva added.