Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. I. Alizadeh / Several appeals for pardons were submitted to the Commission at the President's Administration of Azerbaijan. The next decree on pardons may be issued in Azerbaijan in December, MP Elmira Akhundova, said on 10 October.
"The Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, will define the exact date for pardons," the MP said.
The latest decree on pardons was issued on 19 March 2007, on the eve of the national Novruz holiday. The amnesty act was passed by the Parliament in May dedicated to the eighty-fourth birthday anniversary of former President Heydar Aliyev. The act was represented by MP Mehraban Aliyeva, who is also the President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, in the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament).
Presently, seven journalists have been imprisoned in Azerbaijan, Eynulla Fatullayev, Samir Sadagatoglu, Rafik Tagi, Rovshan Kabirli, Yashar Agazadeh, Mirza Sakit, and Faramaz Novruzoglu. International organizations are demanding the release of the arrested journalists. Oktay Asadov, the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, said the detained journalists would be released during his meeting with the leadership of the Council of Europe in Strasburg.
The decree on pardon is not expected to be implemented due to the holy Ramadan month, the MP said.