FCO statement on sentencing of human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev
UK deeply concerned by sentencing of Intigam Aliyev
A Foreign Office spokesperson said:
The United Kingdom is dismayed by the sentencing of Intigam Aliyev to seven and a half years, following questionable allegations of tax evasion, illegal business activity and abuse of authority.
Mr Aliyev is an internationally respected human rights lawyer. As one of the first Azerbaijani lawyers to bring cases to the European Court of Human Rights and, until his arrest, coordinator of the Council of Europe’s legal training programme he made an important contribution to the legal system in Azerbaijan. Mr Aliyev joins a worryingly long list of human rights defenders sentenced to lengthy prison sentences.
The United Kingdom is troubled by a number of aspects of the conduct of the trial which reinforce the impression that the verdict was politically motivated. We again call on Azerbaijan to abide by its international commitments and address concerns felt by many about its treatment of civil society.