Azerbaijan rejected claims it denied entry to the human rights group Amnesty International ahead of the first European Games that started in Baku on Friday.
"We have received no accreditation request from Amnesty International,” Ali Hasanov, a political aide to the Azerbaijani president, told reporters on Thursday.
Hasanov said "some individuals” affiliated with the group sought to visit Azerbaijan using "illegal means”. He did not specify.
The London-based group said Tuesday it was forced to cancel a planned visit to Azerbaijan after being told by the country’s embassy in the UK to postpone the visit until after the Games.
Amnesty said it was going to hold a briefing in Azerbaijan on the country’s alleged human rights violations.
The group said there were at least 20 "prisoners of conscience” in Azerbaijan, a claim Hasanov rejected.
"We argue that there are no political prisoners in Azerbaijan,” he said. "There are people charged on specific criminal offences.”
Hasanov said Azerbaijan has been part of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights since joining the Council of Europe 15 years ago.
Anyone questioning verdicts by Azerbaijani courts can appeal to the European court, he said.
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