Eynulla Fatullayev: I am grateful to all!

The Realniy Azerbaijan newspaper’s editor, Eynulla Fatullayev pardoned by the presidential decree was released from Prison No. 1, where he had been serving his eight-year sentence, at about 18:00 today.“The prison chief came to me and offered to collect things.

It must be a sinful thing, but I suspected some provocation once again. Then I was asked to sign the paper on my release, put into the car of the same official and brought home,” Fatullayev told Turan.“First I was called and congratulated by the OSCE Special Representative on the media, Dunja Mijatovic.

As I understand it, the official Baku reported to Brussels on my release,” he said.Several mobile phones in Fatullayev’s flat were not going to stop; the U.S. Ambassador Matthew Bryza and the Popular Front Party’s leader Ali Kerimli called the released journalist. Kerimli visited him soon.

People were calling from Norway, London and Paris and from elsewhere.Eynulla was congratulated by the Musavat Party’s head, Isa Gambar and also by countless colleagues, journalists, human rights activists, relatives, neighbors and friends.Eynulla looked cheerful and recovered and joked that his imprisonment was in his favor. “I was jailed in one country, and now, four years later, I feel in another country,” he said philosophically.Eynulla answered many questions and gave interviews.

photo: Aziz KA

The essence of most of the questions asked by his fellow journalists was whether he would continue to do journalism and whether he felt well.Eynulla’s answers reduced to the fact that he was grateful for his liberation, although it should have happened earlier. He is very grateful to the international institutions and, in particular, the Council of Europe, OSCE and the European Court of Human Rights.

He said he wants to do journalism and hopes that the necessary conditions will be set up for this.The general turmoil and confusion in the Fatullayev family gradually passed and the number of visitors was growing, although the journalist’s father could not find a corkscrew in his own cupboard to uncork a bottle and celebrate the release of his son.