Azerbaijan's Ombudsman on the significance of the President's amnesty initiative

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev's initiative to declare amnesty is a clear example of the state's humanistic policy.

As reported by BAKU.WS, this is stated in the statement of Azerbaijan's Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva.

According to her, ensuring human rights and freedoms is one of the key directions of Azerbaijan's state policy, and an important component of this policy is humanism, mercy, and an individual approach in the field of criminal punishment.

The Ombudsman emphasized that the institutions of pardon and amnesty serve as legal mechanisms for implementing these principles, contributing to strengthening the educational nature of punishment and returning convicts to society.

Sabina Aliyeva recalled that it was national leader Heydar Aliyev who signed the first pardon decree in the history of independent Azerbaijan in 1995, thereby restoring the institution of pardon in the country. Between 1995 and 2003, 3,104 convicts were released from their unserved sentences through 32 decrees and orders on pardoning, and at Heydar Aliyev's initiative, 7 acts of amnesty were adopted, resulting in more than 77 thousand people being freed.

She also noted that between 1995 and 2025, a total of 71 decrees and orders on pardoning were signed, and 12 acts of amnesty were adopted, with thousands of convicts being released from further serving their sentences. It was particularly emphasized that on the initiative of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva, four acts of amnesty were adopted, the latest of which ensured the release of about 10 thousand people.

"President Ilham Aliyev's initiative to declare amnesty has been put forward at a historic stage when Azerbaijan's sovereignty has been fully restored, and the Constitution has the highest legal force throughout the country's territory. The submission of the relevant bill to the Milli Mejlis clearly demonstrates the state's commitment to human rights protection, legal reforms, and humanistic values," the Ombudsman added.