By AZE.US
Azerbaijani lawmaker Azer Badamov has responded to allegations that relatives of some Azerbaijanis living abroad are being pressured because of their family members’ political activities.
Badamov, a member of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis, told Pravda.az that every person should be held responsible only for their own actions.
“Linking the mention of a person’s relative in a criminal case to that person’s activities abroad is neither legally nor logically correct,” the lawmaker said.
Badamov stressed that no one can be subjected to legal liability because of their political views or family ties. At the same time, he said, civil rights and freedoms do not give anyone the privilege to violate the law.
According to the lawmaker, if authorities have restricted a particular person from leaving Azerbaijan, the legal basis for that decision should be examined.
He argued that such restrictions should not automatically be linked to a relative’s political activities abroad or to statements made about Azerbaijani government representatives.
Badamov also said that living outside Azerbaijan does not place a person above the law. Calls or statements deemed unlawful, insults, and other alleged offenses should receive a legal assessment through established procedures, he added.
“Neither political status, residence abroad, nor family relationships provide immunity from the law,” Badamov said.
“In a state governed by law, no one should be subjected to pressure, but no one should be above the law either.”
AZE.US