Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, issued the following statement on the news that an Azerbaijan court commuted the remaining prison sentence of Ilgar Mammadov, a prominent Azerbaijani opposition leader and former presidential candidate:

“Ilgar Mammadov’s incarceration more than five years ago was an act of political retribution by the same repressive Aliyev regime that today ordered his conditional release. Nothing illustrates more clearly the corruption of Azerbaijan’s judicial system, that more often serves as an agent for implementing the whims of the Aliyev regime rather than upholding the rule of law. While Ilgar’s release is a welcome step, true justice for him requires his complete acquittal, freedom of movement, and the space to champion his lifelong causes of liberty and democracy for the people of Azerbaijan.”

Mammadov was arrested in February 2013 and sentenced a year later to seven years in prison, on trumped up charges of inciting riots. Two rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) determined that his prosecution was politically motivated, and ordered his immediate release. The Council of Europe last year initiated an unprecedented censuring procedure against Azerbaijan due to their non-implementation of these rulings. A court in Azerbaijan on Monday commuted the remainder of Mammadov’s seven-year sentence to a suspended prison term, during which he will be barred from leaving the country. 

In September 2017, Co-Chairman Smith introduced H. Res 537 which promotes the rule of law and human rights in Azerbaijan. Among other key provisions, H. Res. 537 calls on the U.S. Government to prioritize the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people in Azerbaijan, when dealing with their government, and urges the application of provisions of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (P.L. 114-328) to punish Azerbaijani officials who violate internationally-recognized human rights.

Further, the legislation calls on the government of Azerbaijan to immediately release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and to cease targeting those who advocate for government based on accountability and democratic values.

Smith has held two hearings on Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses. The most recent was entitled “Azerbaijan’s Persecution of RFE/RL Reporter Khadija Ismayilova.”  In May 2018, the U.S. Helsinki Commission held a briefing entitled “Democracy Deferred: The State of Elections and Fundamental Freedoms in Azerbaijan.”