Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr I. Alizadeh / Ziyafat Askarov, the first vice speaker of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani parliament), reported on 7 May that no changes or amendments would be made to the Bill on Amnesty passed by the parliament on 1 May. He was commenting on the proposal of human right activists to change the bill.
Askarov said that the bill, which had been submitted by MP Mehriban Aliyeva, the president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, was a full-fledged one and did not need any amendments. As to the supposition that the amnesty will cover political prisoners as well, the vice speaker said the bill clearly states who can be amnestied.
The vice speaker stated that Azerbaijan did not have political prisoners. "In connection with the bill we cannot follow one's personal considerations. I think Azerbaijan does not have the problem of political prisoners so far. The bill will not be changed in connection to this," Askarov added.