Anar Mammadli pardoned after almost 2,5 years in prison

On 17 March 2016, Anar Mammadli, EPDE board member and the Director of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), based in Baku, Azerbaijan, was pardoned by the president Aliev along with a number of high profile political prisoners.

Mammadli was imprisoned on 16 December 2013 following EMDS critical report documenting massiv fraud during presidential elections held on 9 October 2013. He was sentenced to 5,5 years in prison under Articles 179.3.2 (appropriation in significant size), 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship by an organized group), 213.1 (tax evasion), 308.2 (abuse of official authority with grave consequences) and 313 (service forgery) of the Criminal Codeon 26 May 2014.

EPDE and numerous international organisations and NGOs demanded the release of Anar.

See here the hronic of Anar's arrest: http://www.epde.org/…/id-55-years-of-prison-for-epde-board-…