BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 28. The pardon decree [signed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on May 27] was also executed in the Gobustan prison of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
In accordance with the decree, two citizens were released from the Gobustan prison.
One of them is Shamsi Samadzade, who was well-known businessman in Azerbaijan in the 1990s, and was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 29, 2000 by the Grave Crimes Court and spent 23 years in prison.
Another released citizen is Nuraddin Mustafayev.
Deputy Head of the Penitentiary Service Ogtay Mammadov said that according to the pardon decree, 168 people were released, and the sentence term for 30 convicts was reduced.
Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva noted that this is the first time that a person sentenced to life imprisonment was immediately released in accordance with the decree of the country’s president.
"Prior to this, life-sentenced prisoners were also pardoned, but their sentence term was reduced by half. Therefore, I congratulate the convict and his family," added Aliyeva.
