The MEPs of the KKE condemn the unacceptable persecution of communists and other militants for their political beliefs in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. MEP Kostas Papadakis addressed a question to the European Commission on this issue.
The MEPs of the KKE note the following:
“In Uzbekistan, journalist Aziz Hakimov was sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison “for inciting hatred” because he opposed a bill promoting a ban on communist ideology, as well as the rehabilitation of participants in the Islamist armed movement of the 1920s–1940s, which is responsible for numerous crimes against the peoples of Central Asia. His trial was held behind closed doors with the press barred from attending, while the case files were classified as confidential—a fact that provides substantial grounds to argue that he was denied the opportunity to defend himself and that the case itself is fabricated and constitutes persecution for his political beliefs.
In Azerbaijan, during the same period, four young men were sentenced to prison simply for displaying communist symbols. Ibrahim Asadli and Abdullah Ibrahimli received two-year sentences, while Elchin Bayramli and Mehman Zeynalov received one-and-a-half-year sentences, just for publicly hoisting USSR flags.
This is an unacceptable judicial practice, which is being promoted in member countries of the Organization of Turkic States. In Kazakhstan, for example, journalists who oppose the falsification of history are also being prosecuted on similar charges.”
Based on the above, the KKE MEP addressed the following questions:
“What is the European Commission’s position:
- On the unacceptable violation of political rights and freedoms in member states of the Organization of Turkic States, with which the EU is, in fact, strengthening its economic, diplomatic, and military relations;
- What steps does the European Commission intend to take to secure the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan and to put an end to the political persecutions of communists and other militants who defend the USSR and historical truth?”