Azerbaijan Backs Down On Promise To Have Alternative Service for CO's

Forum 18 reported last week that Azerbaijan is backing down on its commitments to permit alternative service for conscientious objectors. A 23-year-old Jehovah's Witness is facing trial for refusing military service on grounds of religious conscience, even though the Azerbaijan Constitution (Art. 76) guarantees the right to perform alternative service. When Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, it promised to have alternative service in place by 2004. However, Krzysztof Zyman, an official of the Council of Europe's Directorate General of Human Rights, says that no progress has been made in adopting an alternative service law.