Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva is on a Business Trip to Hungary

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, is on a business trip to Hungary.

On the first day of the visit, the Ombudsman met with the President of the Constitutional Court of Hungary, Tamás Sulyok. During the meeting, the Ombudsman provided in-depth  information regarding judicial and legal reforms implemented in our country, effective cooperative relations with, and inquiries sent to the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan for the purpose of more effective protection of human rights and freedoms.

During the meeting, in addition to the discussion of the prospects of cooperation, Mr. Sulyok told about the activities of the Constitutional Court.

The next meeting was held with Tamás Tóth, Director General of the Prison Service of Hungary. T. Tóth informed the Ombudsman about the efforts being made to protect the rights of both inmates and prison employees. He also gave information about the foreign nationals imprisoned in penal institutions and their legal status, and an exchange of views was held.

In the course of the meeting, the Azerbaijani Ombudsman gave extensive information about the work of the National Preventive Mechanism in Azerbaijan, and shared the reforms implemented at the national level, applied innovations, and positive experiences of the Ombudsman Institution in the relevant field.

S. Aliyeva pointed out that every year, more than 200 visits are carried out to institutions that persons cannot leave on their own free will, and the preventive visits cover not only penitentiary institutions, but also police temporary detention facilities, psychiatric institutions, educational and social service institutions, orphanages, and immigration detention centers for irregular migrants.

She added that, considering the Ombudsman’s appeals, new penal institutions meeting modern standards for female inmates have been built, and opportunities for video communication with the families of detainees in penal institutions have been made available.

It was said that this year, 801 convicts were pardoned by the Presidential Order, and 59 of them were pardoned based on the petitions of the Ombudsman.  

Afterwards, S. Aliyeva traveled to Debrecen to visit the Regional Center of the Hungarian Ombudsman, where she learned more about the Center’s activities.

During the visit, the Ombudsman became familiar with the conditions created at the Beregsurány border crossing point, the temporary office of the Ombudsman of Hungary, and the cultural center for children.

At the end, a meeting and discussions were held with Attila Tilki, a member of the National Assembly of Hungary, head of the Hungarian-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group.