Azerbaijan parliament committee discusses draft amnesty decision

A committee of Azerbaijan’s parliament has discussed a draft decision on declaring an amnesty to mark the country’s “Year of Constitution and Sovereignty,” which could apply to thousands of convicts if adopted.

According to the draft, participants in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and the September 2023 anti-terror operations, as well as close relatives of those killed or missing in the fighting, would be released from prison. The amnesty would also apply to recipients of state orders and medals, families of victims of the Khojaly massacre, people who became disabled during the January 1990 events, internally displaced persons, and victims of deportations and political repression.

The draft also предусматривает release for women, offenders who were under 18 at the time of committing a crime, people aged over 60, prisoners with 61–100% disabilities, and those caring for minor or disabled children.

In addition, the amnesty would cover people convicted of crimes posing no major public danger, those sentenced to up to five years for negligence-related offences, individuals given suspended sentences, and those serving non-custodial penalties. For certain categories convicted of less serious or negligence-related serious crimes, prison terms would be reduced by six months.

The proposal would also apply to individuals convicted by foreign courts who are serving their sentences in Azerbaijan. Authorities would be given four months to implement the amnesty, and measures for the social reintegration of released individuals are предусмотрены.

The draft decision is expected to be submitted to a plenary session of parliament in the coming days.