Baroness Vivien Stern, a member of the House of Lords in the British parliament, David Croft, Governor of Edinburgh Prison and Joanna Lamb, Deputy Director of the John Smith Memorial Trust, will be visiting Azerbaijan from 2 to 5 October, British Council told Trend.
The goal of this visit is to raise the political and public profile of penal reforms in Azerbaijan and give support to the Ministry of Justice, the Penitentiary Department and civil society. During the visit the guests will meet with President Ilham Aliyev, the Justice Minister, British Ambassador to Azerbaijan, representatives of NGOs and youth.
Baroness visited many countries to advise on penal reform and she has written several books on the subject. In Azerbaijan Baroness Stern and other guests will visit trial ad pre-rail prisons and meet with judges and prison staff to share experience and knowledge on the penitentiary reform process.
The visit is also intended as promotion of the John Smith Fellowship Program which was established in 1996, but it relatively new in Azerbaijan. The goals of the program are to strengthen and deepen democratic awareness through five-week study period in the UK and democratic value.
The delegation will hold a news conference on 5 October.