According to Aliyev, Democracy Is Not an Apple That You Can Go and Buy from the Market: Naira Zohrabyan at the PACE

Today, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) discussed the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. MP Naira Zohrabyan, speaking about the political prisoners in Azerbaijan, noted that this topic has always been one of the top issues discussed in the Council of Europe.

Zohrabyan mentioned that for years Azerbaijan has tried to undermine reports unfavorable to Baku through its "caviar lobbyists" and expressed hope that the independent investigative body established in PACE, which is examining the entire corruption scheme of the "Azerbaijani laundromat," will unveil the entire trajectory of the caviar lobbyists.

Addressing the issue of democracy in Azerbaijan, she quoted Aliyev’s words, who stated that democracy is not an apple that one can easily go and buy from the market.

“Dear colleagues, the topic of political prisoners in Azerbaijan has been one of the top issues for our Assembly since the country’s accession to the Council of Europe. The Assembly, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and the European Court of Human Rights have addressed the serious issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan dozens of times, calling for the release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in numerous resolutions. And we have repeatedly heard Aliyev’s cynical responses from this podium regarding the questions concerning political prisoners in his country. I recall the disgraceful January of 2013 when our colleague Strasser’s report on ‘Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan’ was thwarted, after which the scandals of 'caviar diplomacy' and 'Azerbaijani laundromat' corruption emerged, revealing how Azerbaijan bribed PACE members to block unfavorable reports for Baku.

Former PACE Vice-President Luca Volontè was accused by the Milan prosecutor’s office of receiving a bribe of €2.3 million from Azerbaijan, but we must honestly admit that beside Luca, many former and perhaps some current PACE members and officials who were active participants in the Azerbaijani laundromat should also sit on the defendant's bench today.

When the now notorious former PACE President Pedro Agramunt invited me out of the room to avoid hearing his name mentioned in the Azerbaijani corrupt package, I hope that our established independent investigative committee will name all corrupt individuals who have defended lies, falsifications, and facilitated the Azerbaijani authorities in continuing to torture hundreds of political prisoners in prisons, including bloggers, human rights defenders, and lawyers.

A year ago, the reporter on Azerbaijan’s political prisoners, Ms. Varshdotir, presented a list of 130 political prisoners in Azerbaijan in the legal committee. This was horrifying. However, it is even more horrifying when Aliyev, speaking about political prisoners and democracy in Azerbaijan, declares, ‘Democracy is not an apple that you can so easily go and buy from the market.’ This is how it is, dear colleagues.”