The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called the CPT’s statement “baseless and unfair”

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called the CPT’s statement “baseless and unfair”

The Baku authorities have expressed deep regret following the public statement by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) regarding Azerbaijan.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry considered such an approach to be “unfounded and unfair” as well as “questionable from a legal point of view.”

On 3 July, the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture announced the refusal of the Azerbaijani authorities to accept the delegation of this structure. At the same time, the Committee published a report on Azerbaijan following the results of the 2022 mission, which noted the practice of torture in the activities of law enforcement agencies against detainees.

Contrary to the requirements of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the CPT has taken the unprecedented decision to publish in full a report on the results of its visit to Azerbaijan in 2022 without Baku’s consent, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ayhan Hajizade said today.

“Besides the fact that such an approach is unfair and unjustified, it also raises questions from a legal point of view,” Ayhan Hajizade stressed. “Since 2002, the committee has made several periodic and special visits to our country and published reports on the implementation of the convention by Azerbaijan. On this occasion, Azerbaijan presented the government’s position on each provision mentioned in the reports. At the same time, as stated in the public statement, Azerbaijan has taken measures to eliminate the existing shortcomings, the committee’s recommendations have always been taken into account,” Hajizade continued.

According to him, Azerbaijan, within the framework of cooperation with the committee, provided the necessary assistance during all visits of its representatives. “In addition to providing support for on-site investigations, measures were taken to accommodate the members of the delegation at the highest level, efforts were made to strengthen the foundations of cooperation,” Hajizade continued. He noted with regret that “this decision was adopted in the context of Azerbaijan’s relations with the Council of Europe, which developed after the biased decision not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in January 2024.” “We strongly reject the criticism contained in this public statement, which, instead of constructive cooperation with government agencies, actually shifts responsibility to them.

“In addition to protecting the rights of those sentenced to prison, Azerbaijan is making significant progress in harmonizing actual practice with generally accepted standards,” the Foreign Ministry representative noted.