Council of Europe

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Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan leaves PACE after vote to exclude their delegation

by Ismi Aghayev

•2 min read

Azerbaijan has suspended its participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), after the body voted not to ratify the Azerbaijani delegation’s credentials. On 24 January, 76 delegates voted in favour of excluding Azerbaijan over its human rights record, with 10 voting against and 4 abstaining. Shortly before the vote, Azerbaijan’s delegation announced that it was suspending participation in and cooperation with the body indefinitely. Reasons given in favour of

The Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg. Official photo.

Armenia

Armenia stands alone in support for Russia in Council of Europe

by Ani Avetisyan

•2 min read

Armenia was the sole country in the Council of Europe to join the Russian delegation in voting against a decision to suspend Russia from the organisation over their invasion of Ukraine. The decision was adopted by the Council’s Committee of Ministers on Friday, two days after Russia’s invasion. As a result, Russia will lose representation in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It will remain subject to the European Convention on Human Right

Council of Europe

Georgia debates whether to allow in Russian Council of Europe delegates

by OC Media

•5 min read

A debate is raging in Georgia over whether the country should allow in Russian delegates who have violated Georgia’s ‘Law on Occupied Territories’ to attend the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in Tbilisi. There has been widespread speculation that the Russian delegation would be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as well as others who have entered Abkhazia via Russia, a violation of Georgian law. The controversy began after Georgian President Salome Zurabishvil

Azerbaijan

German police raid MPs’ homes in Azerbaijan bribery probe

by OC Media

•4 min read

German police have raided the properties of Christian Democratic party MP Karin Strenz and former MP Eduard Lintner; the two are suspected of accepting bribes to lobby for Azerbaijan. The raids on Thursday were part of an investigation by the Frankfurt Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany into an alleged large-scale campaign of bribery of German politicians by the Azerbaijani government. Investigators searched 16 properties belonging to 52-years-old Strent

Azerbaijan

Council of Europe urges Azerbaijan to clear criminal records of activists and opposition figures

by OC Media

•7 min read

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has urged the government of Azerbaijan to abide by its obligations and remove all restrictions on ReAl party leader Ilgar Mammadov and seven others who were determined to be falsely imprisoned. The committee, which monitors the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings, delivered the comments on 25 September while reviewing the performance of the Azerbaijani government. Along with Mammadov’s case, the committee was crit

Council of Europe

Council of Europe ‘concerned’ over Georgia’s queer rights record

by OC Media

•6 min read

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has expressed ‘concern’ over Georgia’s failure to uphold the rights of queer people, including the lack of protection for this year’s aborted Tbilisi Pride march. The committee made the comments while considering Georgia’s progress in implementing the 2015 European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on the case of Identoba v Georgia. The court ruled in favour of queer rights group Identoba, who sued the Georgian Government for its failu

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s ‘selective ignoring’ of European Court compensation rulings

by Gulnur Kazimova

•4 min read

Despite the European Court of Human Rights awarding compensation to dozens of activists and opposition figures in Azerbaijan, many say the government is not paying up. According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), 190 appeals from Azerbaijan were filed with the Court from January–July 2018, 28 of which received decisions. Asabali Mustafayev, head of local rights group the Democracy and Human Rights Resource Centre, told OC Media that there are currently about 20 people in Azerba