Deputy speaker: Topic of political prisoners used as lever of pressure on Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 20 / Trend M. Aliyev / First Deputy Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov answered a question related to political prisoners at a meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliament on Friday. He added that there is no specific and formal definition of such concepts as "political prisoner" or "prisoner of conscience". These concepts are used to hamper Azerbaijan's development. "We have repeatedly discussed this topic with European lawyers and asked them which country's legislation has a definition of these concepts," he said. "We are lawyers, let's rely on the legal documents." He said one should not connect the creative work in Baku with "Eurovision-2012" song contest. "This work is the implementation of socio-economic programs approved by the President," he said. "It is wrong to raise the issue of political prisoners, to politicize the "Eurovision" contest and cast a shadow on Azerbaijan's achievements." Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az