France, Strasbourg / corr Trend A.Maharramli / Gultakin Hajiyeva, the deputy chairman of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), regarded the statement by PACE President on the new appointment of a rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan as groundless.
"It is premature to speak about the appointment of a rapporteur," Hajiyeva said in talks with Trend on 2 October.
Rene van der Linden, the PACE President, said in talks with journalists on 1 October that a new rapporteur on political prisoners will be appointed for Azerbaijan. The PACE President stressed that the CE is concerned about the existence of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. It is unacceptable to the CE, he said.
"Sometimes journalists are in a very dangerous situation at their work. They are arrested, but it is unacceptable," Linden said.
After the accession of Azerbaijan to CE in 2001 a rapporteur on political prisoners was appointed to Azerbaijan. This post was liquidated two years after the release of political prisoners included on the CE list. Meanwhile, a procedure on application by Azerbaijani citizens to local courts of the European Court on Human Rights has been applied since then.
Hajiyeva said that the problem of political prisoners long ago lost its reality, whereas the arrest of journalists is currently on the agenda. The MP said that this problem can be resolved in other ways.
"The appointment of a rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan can be resolved by talks with the PACE chairman and at the Monitoring Committee," she added.