Today, the Defense Committee for the Rights of Young Political Prisoners sent an open letter to US president Barack Obama and members of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.

The letter calls on them to speed up efforts for the release of Azerbaijani youths imprisoned on political grounds and to discuss this issue with Azerbaijani authorities.
The appeal expresses specific concern over the unfair imprisonment of opposition activist Jabbar Savalanli and non-affiliated youth activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev; the continued imprisonment of Ruslan Bashirli, head of the New Thought Youth Organization, who has been in jail since 2005; and the arrest of Musavat Party Youth Committee Head Tural Abbasli, deputy heads Ahad Mammadli and Rufat Hajibayli, committee member Elnur Majidli, non-affiliates Ulvi Guliyev and Elnur Israfilov at the 2 April opposition protest.