June 17, 2021

Azerbaijan cannot be a partner of the European Union

Dr. Leyla Yunus

Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy

In April 2021, the EU resumed negotiations with the Azerbaijan Republic in the framework of the Eastern Partnership regarding the human rights situation in this country. Violations of the human rights and democratic freedoms in Azerbaijan are ongoing, and in recent years the situation has become even more dramatic. We”ll illustrate it with the existence of political prisoners in the Republic. As of today, there are hundred eleven political prisoners within the country with a population of ten million people. All the information concerning these prisoners is available on the website of our Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), right here:

Political prisoners for 5 april 2021

The number of political prisoners in the country never falls below 100 people. Today they are divided into 7 groups:

This list consists of 7 groups and includes 111 people:

• Group № 1 Journalists and Bloggers – 7 persons
• Group № 2 Members of Opposition Parties and Movements – 6 persons
• Group № 3 Arrested after the rally on July 14-15, 2020 – 3 persons
• Group № 4 Peaceful Believers – 18 persons
• Group № 5 Convicted in Tartar case – 25 persons
• Group № 6 Convicted in Ganja case – 38 persons
• Group № 7 Life Term Sentenced – 14 persons

The group #1 includes 7 journalists and bloggers convicted for criticizing the authorities or the President Ilham Aliyev. The IPD website displays a number of legal studies of the trials, which show that innocent people were sentenced on trumped-up charges with illegal and unreasonable sentences that deprived them of their liberty:

– Analysis of the trial against the journalist and human defender Elchin Mammad – https://www.ipd-az.org/elchin-mamed/

– Analysis of the trial against the journalist Polad Aslanov – https://www.ipd-az.org/polad-aslanv/

– Analysis of the trial against the journalist Afgan Sadigov, who immediately after receiving an unlawful sentence declared a hunger strike and fell into a coma:

Afghan Sadigov, a journalist, went on a hunger strike immediately after being illegally convicted and in 82 days he fell into coma…

– Analysis of the trial against the journalists and civic activists Elchin Hasanzade and Ibrahim Salamov: https://www.ipd-az.org/there-is-no-freedom-of-speech-in-azerbaijan/

The IPD had no opportunity to monitor and analyze all the trials that had been arranged by means of political persecution. Yet, the violation of the national Azerbaijani legislation and International Law throughout all the trials analyzed by the IPD lawyers clearly indicates there is no independent judicial system in the country and political repression prevails.

We analyzed the trial of Saleh Rustamov, Aqil Maharramov and other from the group Members of opposition parties and movements: https://www.ipd-az.org/baku-city-court-on-grave-crimes-passed-a-sentence-on-5-defendants-on-so-called-case-illegal-financing-of-azerbaijani-popular-front-party/

Also, trial of Pasha Umudov: https://www.ipd-az.org/pasha-umudov/

The repression against peaceful believers in Azerbaijan has been a constant problem. Currently, there are 18 individuals in the Peaceful Believers group. The beatings, torture, unjustified long terms of imprisonment (for 17-20 years) lead only to the forced radicalization of peaceful believers. Meanwhile, the courts simply ignored the appeals to the court regarding prisoners’ torture, as they rejected the appeal about torture of Abbas Huseynov in the Gobustan prison. A legal analysis of this trial here: https://www.ipd-az.org/the-court-rejected-the-complaint-of-abbas-huseynov-about-torture/

The worst crime of the Aliyev regime in recent years is Terter case.

In 2017, without a court decision, about 2.000 people were arrested, mainly military personnel in Terter region. Most of them were charged with treason. According to information, gathered by IPD, in May 2017 the investigators of Military Procurator’s Office in Terter region, in Azerbaijan, killed 11 citizens of Azerbaijan, under tortures:

•  Mehman Huseynov was arrested on May 7, his body was buried on May 16, 2017.
• Sahavat Bunyadov was arrested on May 7, his body was buried on May 17, 2017.
• Saleh Gafarov was arrested on May 4, his body was buried on May 14, 2017.
• Elchin Quliyev was arrested on May 11, his body was buried on May 18, 2017.
• Tamkin Nizamioglu was arrested on May 12, his body was buried on May 21, 2017.
• Dayandur Azizli was arrested on May 12, his body was buried on July 20, 2017.
• Suleyman Kazymov was arrested on May 4, his body was buried on May 7, 2017.
• Elkhan Agazade was arrested on May 1, his body was buried on May 10, 2017.
• Elchin Mirzaliyev was arrested on May 7, his body was buried on May 25, 2017.
• Ruslan Odjaqverdiyev was arrested in the morning on May 16, 2017. The body of beaten to death Ruslan Odjaqverdiyev was given out in the evening on May 16, 2017.
• Adil Tehran oglu Sabirli was beaten to death on May 5, 2017

OMCT did Statement on Terter case “Azerbaijan: 11 deaths in custody and other serious human rights violations in the “Terter case”: https://www.omct.org/en/resources/statements/azerbaijan-11-deaths-in-custody-and-other-serious-human-rights-violations-in-the-terter-case

But this terrible crime the Azerbaijani authorities hide. Our IPD has information about 25 citizens sentenced to long terms of imprisonment (from 8 to 20 years). However, the number of convicts is more – 78 men. All trials took place in closed military courts.

Nevertheless, the lawyers of the IPD having received the documents from the two Terter trials, made their analyses. See:

The trial of 7 persons involved in the so-called “Terter case”

Another unjustified accusation of “homeland treason”

The legal examination of those two trials revealed the absolute innocence of people sentenced to jail terms from 9 to 18 years on trumped-up charges.

There are 38 people in the Convicted in Ganja case group who had been also convicted on fabricated charges, and their trials were also studied by our lawyers.

The most regrettable is the group of Life Term Sentenced, 14 people. These are people who have been imprisoned since 1994-1995, and they were considered political prisoners by the Council of Europe experts at the time of Azerbaijan’s entrance into the CoE. However, over a quarter of a century their number has been decreasing due solely to those who have died in prison.

Political repression, torture and murder caused with torture are the Azerbaijani reality. There are no independent judicial system in Azerbaijan. All judges follow instructions from the President’s office.

And if the judge does not follow the instructions from above, he immediately ceases to be a judge. As it happened with the judge of the Sabunchi District Court of Baku Samir Talybov, who on April 1, 2020 made a fair decision and released Aqil Humbatov, who criticized president on Facebook, from forced placement in a psychiatric hospital.

The next day, the judge Samir Talybov, who had released Aqil Humbatov from the psychiatric hospital, was called from the presidential office and asked to write a statement about his voluntary resignation, which he did. Within one day, the Judicial and Legal Counsel of Azerbaijan dismissed Samir Talybov from his post of judge… Here: https://www.ipd-az.org/agil-gumbatov/

Law enforcement officers fabricate accusations against critics of government officials, first of all, Ilham Aliyev, and personally torture and kill people.

Since 2014, lawyers who have the courage to defend the rights of political prisoners have been expelled from the Bar Association, just as Alaif Hasanov, Khalid Bagirov, Yalchin Imanov, Muzafar Bakhyshev, Aslan Ismayilov and Elchin Namazov were expelled.

The installation of the ugly wax figures of Armenian soldiers in the so-called Victory Park in the center of the capital, city of Baku, can in no way contribute to the establishment of peace and good trustful relations between the nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It would be logical to expect a change of attitude towards Armenia following the victory in the Second Karabakh War: a cessation of Armenophobia, harassment of our own citizens who have family ties with Armenians, using the word Armenian as an insulting curse, etc. But that didn’t happen.

The Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament should hold a special meeting to discuss the human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

There are no independent press in Azerbaijan, and freedom of speech is brutally suppressed. In fact, there are no officially registered independent NGO in Azerbaijan; the civil society was crushed in 2014. And currently, Ilham Aliyev has turned to suppressing independent voices outside the country.

The one of the first attack was carried out on 29th of January 2020 against the political emigrant from Azerbaijan blogger Qabil Mammadov (resident in Germany Bergkamen) . He was attacked and severely beaten by unknown persons who used tear gas against him.  His young son was present at the scene and is in the state of the psychological shock as the result of the attack against his father.

On March 14, 2021 there was an attempt upon the life of political emigrant from Azerbaijan, blogger Muhammad Mirzali. The attempt took place in France in Nantes City. Several unidentified attackers brutally beat, stabbed him multiple times and fled.

On May 2, 2021, Bayram Mammadov, a well-respected critic of the Aliyev regime, died under unclear circumstances in Turkey.

Unfortunately, Europe pays no attention to the crimes committed by the Aliyev regime.

Nowadays, a country such as Azerbaijan is not a reliable and worthy partner for the EU.

Dr. Leyla Yunus

Director of Institute for Peace and Democracy

Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor

Winner of International Theodore Hacker Award

Laureate of Polish Sergio Vieira de Mello Award

Winner of Battle of Crete Award

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought of the European Parliament Finalist

E-mail: yunus.arif.leyla@gmail.com

Website: https://www.ipd-az.org

Skype: arif.yunusov1

Tel.: +31 611 43 59 90

 

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All video-conference here:

https://vodmanager.coe.int/coe/webcast/coe/2021-05-17-2/en

 

Dr. Leyla Yunus

Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, Azerbaijan/Netherlands

Azerbaijan ignores the Resolution 2322 (2020) on reported cases of political prisoners in Azerbaijan

When Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, three experts of the Council of Europe visited the country and made sure that there were several hundred political prisoners in Azerbaijan. And as indicated in paragraph No. 10 of Resolution 2322 (2020):

10 When Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe, it recognised the existence of political prisoners and co-operated on measures to release them. Since then, its position has shifted to one of denial.

After the replacement of Heydar Aliyev as president in 2003 by his son Ilham, the Azerbaijan government, first of all Ilham Aliyev, deny the presence of political prisoners in the country. All the listed PACE resolutions: Resolution 1272 (2002), Resolution 1359 (2004), Resolution 1457 (2005) and Resolution 2185 (2017) are completely ignored by Ilham Aliyev. Resolution 2322 (2020) adopted in January 2020 is also ignored.

There are currently 111 political prisoners in detention:

• Group № 1 Journalists and Bloggers – 7 persons
• Group № 2 Members of Opposition Parties and Movements – 6 persons
• Group № 3 Arrested after the rally on July 14-15, 2020 – 3 persons
• Group № 4 Peaceful Believers – 18 persons
• Group № 5 Convicted in Terter case – 25 persons
• Group № 6 Convicted in Ganja case – 38 persons
• Group № 7 Life Term Sentenced – 14 persons

Life Term Sentenced prisoners have been imprisoned since 1994-1995, that is, for more

than 25 years. Their number is reduced only as a result of death in prison.

As indicated in paragraph No. 7 of the Resolution 2322 (2020)

7 The Assembly recalls the findings of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) showing that detainees, including political prisoners, are at risk of inadequate conditions and serious ill-treatment in Azerbaijani police stations, pre-trial detention centers and prisons.

Torture and murder under torture are regularly in Azerbaijan.

The worst crime of the Aliyev regime in recent years is Terter case.

In 2017, without a court decision, about 2.000 people were arrested, mainly military personnel in Terter region. Most of them were charged with treason. According to information, gathered by IPD, in May 2017 the investigators of Military Procurator’s Office in Terter region, in Azerbaijan, killed 11 citizens of Azerbaijan, under tortures:

1. Mehman Huseynov was arrested on May 7, his body was buried on May 16, 2017.
2. Sahavat Bunyadov was arrested on May 7, his body was buried on May 17, 2017.
3. Saleh Gafarov was arrested on May 4, his body was buried on May 14, 2017.
4. Elchin Quliyev was arrested on May 11, his body was buried on May 18, 2017.
5. Tamkin Nizamioglu was arrested on May 12, his body was buried on May 21, 2017.
6. Dayandur Azizli was arrested on May 12, his body was buried on July 20, 2017.
7. Suleyman Kazymov was arrested on May 4, his body was buried on May 7, 2017.
8. Elkhan Agazade was arrested on May 1, his body was buried on May 10, 2017.
9. Elchin Mirzaliyev was arrested on May 7, his body was buried on May 25, 2017.
10. Ruslan Odjaqverdiyev was arrested in the morning on May 16, 2017. The body of beaten to death Ruslan Odjaqverdiyev was given out in the evening on May 16, 2017.
11. Adil Tehran oglu Sabirli was beaten to death on May 5, 2017

OMCT did Statement on Terter case “Azerbaijan: 11 deaths in custody and other serious human rights violations in the “Terter case”:

https://www.omct.org/en/resources/statements/azerbaijan-11-deaths-in-custody-and-other-serious-human-rights-violations-in-the-terter-case

But this terrible crime the Azerbaijani authorities hide.

Our IPD has information about 25 citizens sentenced to long terms of imprisonment (from 8 to 20 years). However, the number of convicts is more – 78 persons. All trials took place in closed military courts.

In paragraph No. 9 of the Resolution 2322 (2020) it is written:

9 The Assembly welcomes the steps taken by the Azerbaijani authorities in recent years to reform the penitentiary, criminal justice and judicial systems, ….

But in reality no reforms at all. And there are no independent judicial system in Azerbaijan. All judges follow instructions from the President’s office.

And if the judge does not follow the instructions from above, he immediately ceases to be a judge. As it happened with the judge of the Sabunchi District Court of Baku Samir Talybov, who on April 1, 2020 made a fair decision and released Aqil Humbatov, who criticized president on Facebook, from forced placement in a psychiatric hospital.

The next day, the judge Samir Talybov, who had released Aqil Humbatov from the psychiatric hospital, was called from the presidential office and asked to write a statement about his voluntary resignation, which he did. Within one day, the Judicial and Legal Counsel of Azerbaijan dismissed Samir Talybov from his post of judge… Here: https://www.ipd-az.org/agil-gumbatov/

Law enforcement officers fabricate accusations against critics of government officials, first of all, Ilham Aliyev, and personally torture and kill people.

Since 2014, lawyers who have the courage to defend the rights of political prisoners have been expelled from the Bar Association, just as Alaif Hasanov, Khalid Bagirov, Yalchin Imanov, Muzafar Bakhyshev, Aslan Ismayilov and Elchin Namazov were expelled.

All proposals in paragraph 11 of Resolution 2322 (2020) are completely ignored.

Not Azerbaijani Parliament and its members, no the Azerbaijani Government did not and do not recognize formally all of the findings of the European Court of Human Rights in its judgments establishing a violation of Article 18 of the European Convention.

There are no free and democratic elections in Azerbaijan and all members of the parliament of Azerbaijan are appointed as deputies in the presidential apparatus.

Apply to this deputies to use their legislative and executive oversight roles to ensure that all necessary measures are taken to implement fully and effectively the European Court of Human Rights judgments and prevent further recurrence of politically motivated arbitrary detention is very naive. They are no independent, they cannot do it.

In Azerbaijan government, in Azerbaijan there are not an independent and impartial body, which can be release political prisoners.

The requirements of the ECHR are also ignored. The ECHR has found a violation of Article 18 of the European Convention against more than 10 political prisoners.

The Plenum of the Supreme Court should be an acquittal against everyone from whom ECHR found a violation of Article 18.

However, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Azerbaijan Republic overturned the sentences only in respect of Ilqar Mammadov and Rasul Jafarov.

Despite numerous appeals, the Plenum of the Supreme Court does not consider the cases of Anar Mammadli, Rashadad Akhundov, Zaur Qurbanli, Uzeyir Mammadli, Rashad Hasanov, Khadija Ismayilova, Intigam Aliyev.

In the autumn of 2020, Anar Mammadli appealed to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe , pointing to the refusal of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to consider his case.

The statement of the deputies of the Azerbaijani Parliament that the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan suspended its work due to the pandemic and the war with Armenia is not true.

After judgement in case of Ilqar Mammadov and Rasul Jafarov on 23 April 2020, the Plenum met several times: on 7 May and 18 September 2020, on 2 and 19 February 2021 and last time on 30 April 2021. But did not consider the cases of other persons in whose the ECHR decided on violation of Article 18 of the European Convention.

The ECHR also recognized a violation of Article 18 against me, Leyla Yunus, and my husband Arif. We can and must be acquitted by the Appeal Court, where our case is pending. On the contrary, the Appeal Court suspended the criminal case and put our names on the international wanted list through Interpol. This shows that Azerbaijan is not going to implement the decision of the ECHR and acquit us.

So, none of the provisions of Resolution 2322 (2020) has been implemented.

P.S. According to the relatives of those killed under torture and convicted in the Terter case, about 2.000 people were arrested and 1.438 people were tortured. I was given the names of 101 people who were tortured. Currently, 78 people are in custody.

 

 

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Leyla Yunus: the threatful price for defending dissent in Azerbaijan

We are in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic and the traditional host city of the inter-annual Forum 2000, conference, founded by former Czech President Václav Havel and focused on promoting the fight for Human Rights. Some of the most prominent protagonists in this field meet in a palace located on one of the islands of the Vltava river, both to discuss recent world trends and to share specific events and personal stories. One of them is Leyla Yunus from Azerbaijan, whom we are waiting for in the press room. When she enters, we notice that she walks slowly and with some difficulty, however, her eyes display the kind face of a person of firm conviction. She spent dozens of years of persecution in her home country, saw her husband suffer serious illnesses in prison, and had to send her daughter into exile to protect her from possible kidnapping. Despite everything, today she continues to run her organization from the Netherlands and to support dissidents from afar. Leyla Yunus sits down and begins to tell the story of her life marked by totalitarian regimes, ethnic persecution, but also by the relentless hope of seeing a better world.

Leyla Yunus is the Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy and the founder of Women Crisis Center in Azerbaijan. Ms. Yunus has published extensively on regional security, state-building, democratization, and Human Rights in the Caucasus. Her work in the sphere of Human Rights began in Azerbaijan during the Soviet period as Ms. Yunus was a member of the illegal movement “National Minorities Against Bolshevist Regime”. On May 2013 Ms. Yunus received the prestigious honor of the International Theodor-Haecker-Prize and became a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour. Ms. Yunus created a list with the names of all the post 1995 political prisoners in Azerbaijan and was incarcerated from the 30th of July, 2014 until the 9th of December, 2015. In April 2016 Ms. Yunus emigrated to and currently resides in the Netherlands.

 

1. A Childhood under the USSR

How do you remember your childhood?

My family was affected by repression. Two of our menfolk died fighting the fascists during the Second World War. The arrests and executions of Red fascism took away five more young lives. I remember friends of my grandfather visiting us in our home to have tea and talk about how it was to live in Stalin’s concentration camps in Siberia. I remember they were saying that in the concentration camps, the best was if you were a doctor. But, for the intelligence, it was very difficult to live there. My grandfather was speaking about how his younger brother died in Siberia. My childhood was full of these stories. I was born in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. I lived all my life in a house where six Jewish families lived. Five families were Armenians, four were Russians and three were Azerbaijanis. It was very multinational. I was Azerbaijani only when I went to school and still, I needed to eat matza for my breakfast.

Baku is the capital city of Azerbaijan, its history goes back up to the 4th Century. The city is strategically important for Europe’s and Central Asia’s Historical development.

How did you get involved in the fight for a more democratic and free society?

I studied History at the University. After that I went for research assistantship to Moscow. One day at the library, someone asked me to support with my signature the return of Tartars to Crimea. I agreed and I became a member of the underground movement to support national minorities against Bolshevik’s regime. My professors were from Baltic states, from Ukraine. Some of them stayed in Siberia for various years, I was one of the youngest there. The meetings usually took place in houses in the woods. One night, I remember I was sleeping next to an older woman. She told me that in 1939 when the Soviet Union occupied Baltic states, her family was sent to Siberia. After the Second World War only she and her sister were alive. In 1948 she was deported again. I could not imagine there could have been such a strong woman as this Estonian lady. She had not had any education, she told me, and therefore did not take part in our discussions. But she did what she could, and, with two other women of her age, she cooked the food and cleaned the dishes. “I am making my contribution to our struggle for freedom – that’s the most important thing”, this admirable woman said. “For your freedom and for ours,” I replied.”

How important was the multicultural background for you?

This is an ultimately important topic for me. My grandmother, she was German. When the Second World War started, all my family was deported, except her, because she married a man from Azerbaijan. During all her life, she did not speak about the family. My husband once asked her what the name of her mother was. She did not reply… after 45 years. When I married my husband, we never thought about nationality. In my family, everybody is a human being first and has to be a good person. Nationality does not matter. The mother of my husband is Armenian. We never thought about this, but when the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia begun, it was just horrible. He had to take her from Azerbaijan to save her. I had no idea about those pogroms. I was at the conference of the Popular Front in Tallin. In our home only my mother and our daughter stayed, who was four years old. There was an episode, when some people wanted to attack the house because they knew there were Armenian families living there. My mother took a gun, which belonged to my grandfather who liked to hunt, she put it in the window and said she would open fire if they attacked the house. All my life I have tried to explain myself… an old woman alone in a house with a child and a gun ready to shoot. Sometimes I think how stupid all this is. For years, my mother was forced to hide the fact that her grandmother was German. Many years passed. My daughter was forced to hide that her grandmother was Armenian.

“In Azerbaijan there is no rule of law at all. The civil society is destroyed. The international community is closing their eyes. It is so difficult to speak with the mothers of those victims…”

Your husband went to prison in 1976. What was the reason and how was this period of your life?

We were not married yet, we got married in 1978. He was in the army and he was a historian. He had some correspondence with his friends, in which he wrote very openly against the Soviet regime. He was arrested by the KGB. There was no trial. Azerbaijan leaders did not want any dissidents in their country, it was not good for their image. He was not tortured at that time; it was more like permanently getting invitations to the KGB .

 

You got involved in the dissident movement in Azerbayan in the 80’. What were your activities?

In the Soviet Union the name is samizdat. I worked for the samizdat newspaper . Me and my husband, we sent information about repressions in Azerbaijan to the Voice of America, BBC… There were different exile publications, for example in France and we published there. In Gorbachev’s regime there were no repressions, nobody knew about that.

After that you were one of the founders of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan in Support of Perestroika. How was it possible to establish this movement in 1988?

We had connection with Baltic states, with Ukraine and Lithuania. In this period the Popular Front starts to emerge in different places around the Soviet Union. We started our activity as scientists in academies. It was not a Popular Front, but a scientific club for improvements in teaching history without soviet ideology. When we saw the tendency in other territories, we adopted the programme of the Popular Front, created a council, and then organized the first congress. I was elected as a member of the board. We wanted more democracy and pluralism.

2. The broken dream of a free country

It was 11th August 2011, me and my husband we were in Norway and we just received a call that in evening hours the demolition would take place.

What was the atmosphere in the society in the time of the Soviet Union collapse?

3.

In 1989 some English newspapers published an article where they wrote that the Azerbaijan nation was the nation of 1989, because so many people were suddenly involved in the democratic movement. In Baku, there were one million people demonstrating at the square. As a result, on 20th January the Soviet troops entered Baku and we had more than one hundred victims during the intervention. The society struggled for independence. There was a lot of hope for change. The majority tried to do something.

In June of 1993 Aliyev, former official of KGB, became president. What did that mean for you?

It was horrible. Azerbaijan is not like Ukraine or Czechia. The society is based on clans. Aliyev created this in 1969. Before, the clans had no importance in the Soviet regime. He changed it and created this clans. When the Popular Front wanted more democracy, this clan structure was very powerful. There was a lot of repression. In 2000, on my list of political prisoners there were 700 names. In 1995 we established the Institute for Peace and Democracy and since that time we report about all the repression and tortures.

Azerbaijan is a peculiar country. It has huge oil and gas deposits. What do you think about the attitude of the Western countries? Do you feel there is a lack of condemnation because of rich oil and gas reserves?

Unfortunately, the US, Russia and Turkey supported the son of Heydar Aliyev in 2003. When I met with representatives of the State Department, they were like… “you know, he is young, speaks English very well, it will be alright”. Maybe they really believed it. But from 2003 until today under his rule the situation is much more horrible than it was in Brezhnev times. Last year, they tortured a 15-year-old boy, they thought he was an Armenian spy. The west supports this regime because of its oil and gas reserves. This regime also pays money directly to some politicians to receive their support. In April 2017 there was an investigation in the Council of Europe, there was a special report saying that Ilham Aliyev dedicated 3 billion euros to buy members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Already in September 2011, these members of Parliament, that were supposed to monitor the situation in Azerbaijan, came to Baku and had a press conference. I was there and I asked Pedro Agramut, Spanish rapporteur in the Parliamentary Assembly, about how much money he did receive for covering the Human Rights violations. This was in 2011… and no attention. After six years they published his case and he lost his position. After six years! So, these people open the borderline for more brutal oppression in Azerbaijan. Now, the EU and the Council of Europe gave about one million euros to Azerbaijan government for two projects. Now, who are the members of the project? The Minister of Justice, judges and so on. It should be for educational proposes… But this are people who torture others and put them in prison. The citizens of the EU pay taxes, they should ask about where this money goes.

3. Living under threat

One day, a family from the north of Azerbaijan came and told me a horrible story. Girls between seven and fourteen years old from one family went to a forest to pick some fruits, and they were kidnapped.

You were forced to send your daughter to the Netherlands, because you received information that government officials were planning to kidnap her…

In 2009 our Institute for Peace and Democracy was famous in Azerbaijan. One day, a family from the north of Azerbaijan came and told me a horrible story. Girls between seven and fourteen years old from one family went to a forest to pick some fruits, and they were kidnapped. Nobody could find them. They applied to police and so on, and finally the people themselves they found the three guys who kidnapped these girls. During the investigations, these guys said that it was not the first time they kidnapped girls. There was a big investigation. They claimed they did it for money they received from the local police chief officer. They signed it. We published everything and the Minister of Internal Affairs said it was not true and that I was an enemy of the nation and so on. One day, I received information saying that I was very stupid because I have a daughter and I did not think about her. The next day the Polish ambassador gave her a visa and took her to Warsaw. I left my office, but my colleague stayed and his wife visited him. She was the same age and same hair color as my daughter. When she went out of the office, someone tried to kidnap her. She was brave, fought against and he could not take her away. Some neighbors saw the scene. My husband was also there and they fought for a couple of minutes. I understood it was very serious. Nowadays, my daughter lives in the Netherlands.

In 2011 the government destroyed your house which was also the office of your institution…

It was 11th August 2011, me and my husband we were in Norway and we just received a call that in evening hours the demolition would take place. We were lucky that our colleagues were working in the office, so they invited journalists and we have all the documentation. They destroyed the house, library, archives… everything. We also did not receive one penny for this and nobody spoke with us.

Another incident happened in 2014, when you were trying to travel to the Netherlands to visit your daughter…

Yes, I was arrested and five days later so was my husband. They said we were spies of Armenia. It is so stupid, we live in the 21st century, everything is online. If you want to know if I visited some conference, just google it. They said we gave the Armenian government a plan of one of the roads in Azerbaijan.

“My husband stayed alone in a special security prison for sixteen months. During the first six months he was tortured in the night.”

Author’s quotations from Radio Free Europe: “Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunus were sentenced to 8 1/2 and 7 years in prison, respectively, in August 2015 for “fraud” and other purported crimes related to their NGO work. Supporters said the charged were trumped up. Amnesty International recognized the couple as prisoners of conscience.”

Can you describe the conditions in the prison?

The situation of my husband was worst. He stayed alone in a special security prison for sixteen months. During the first six months he was tortured in the night. He also could not sleep during the day. It was prohibited. Now, we live in the Netherlands and he still needs rehabilitation and medical support because of those horrible tortures. He has a problem with unpredictable pain attacks as a result of torture. I stayed in a women special prison. They put in one cell with me a woman with criminal background and she attacked me. It was very difficult.

Author’s quotations from Radio Free Europe: “Toward the end of 2015, the Yunuses were released from jail and their sentences were suspended due to their poor health.

Leyla Yunus, 59, suffers from a number of ailments including diabetes and hepatitis C. She appeared frail as she left the courtroom on December 9, walking with difficulty and leaning on her husband.

Arif Yunus was released in November, also on health grounds. The prosecution of Leyla and Arif Yunus has been condemned by the international community as part of a deepening crackdown on dissent in Azerbaijan.”

Toward the end of 2015, the Yunuses were released from jail and their sentences were suspended due to their poor health.

Leyla Yunus, 59, suffers from a number of ailments including diabetes and hepatitis C. Source: Radio Free Europe. Photo: Amnistía Internacional.

4. Exile and international activism

 

Now, you live in the Netherlands with your family. What are your current activities?

We registered the Institute of Peace and Democracy in the Netherlands. We have a website which I invite everybody to visit. We received financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy. The current project is the monitoring of the juridical system in Azerbaijan. We monitor the trials of political prisoners and publish illegal decisions. We work with professionals in juridical system, in medicine, and also of course with the parents of the victims.

Can you describe the current situation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan?

Today (October 2019) we have 127 political prisoners with a population of approximately 10 million people. For example, Russia’s population is 140 million and there are about 200 political prisoners. They are bloggers, journalists, relatives of activists who live in exile. About 50 of these prisoners are just religious Muslims. Since there is no freedom to discuss in open space, young people go to Mosques. Unfortunately, there have even been murders. In 2018 six people were killed. In 2017 they arrested people in the Tartar region, and again they claimed they were Armenian spies. Without any judicial process, the services tortured them and ten people died. I spoke on Skype with their relatives. There is no rule of law at all. The civil society is destroyed. The international community is closing their eyes. It is so difficult to speak with the mothers of those victims…

Note from the editor: “The Price of Freedom: Torture of political prisoners in Europe today” by Leyla and Arif Yunus was recently translated and published in English in the Netherlands. Click here to access and purchase.

Disclaimer:

The opinions and statements expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of the Dissidents.org team, Fundacion para el Progreso, or the organizations that cooperate with this project. The same is valid for the opinions, statements and actions of the interviewees in other moments and contexts, both in the past and in the future.

 

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A Call to Defend Democracy

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens more than the lives and the livelihoods of people throughout the world.  It is also a political crisis that threatens the future of liberal democracy.

Authoritarian regimes, not surprisingly, are using the crisis to silence critics and tighten their political grip.  But even some democratically elected governments are fighting the pandemic by amassing emergency powers that restrict human rights and enhance state surveillance without regard to legal constraints, parliamentary oversight, or timeframes for the restoration of constitutional order.  Parliaments are being sidelined, journalists are being arrested and harassed, minorities are being scapegoated, and the most vulnerable sectors of the population face alarming new dangers as the economic lockdowns ravage the very fabric of societies everywhere.

Repression will not help to control the pandemic.  Silencing free speech, jailing peaceful dissenters, suppressing legislative oversight, and indefinitely canceling elections all do nothing to protect public health.  On the contrary, these assaults on freedom, transparency, and democracy will make it more difficult for societies to respond quickly and effectively to the crisis through both government and civic action.

It is not a coincidence that the current pandemic began in a country where the free flow of information is stifled and where the government punished those warning about the dangers of the virus—warnings that were seen as spreading rumors harmful to the prestige of the state.  When voices of responsible citizens are suppressed, the results can be deadly, not for just one country but for the entire world.

Democracy is not just a cherished ideal.  It is the system of government best suited to addressing a crisis of the magnitude and complexity of COVID-19. In contrast to the self-serving claims of authoritarian propaganda, credible and free flows of information, fact-based debate about policy options, the voluntary self-organization of civil society, and open engagement between government and society are all vital assets in combating the pandemic.  And they are all key elements of liberal democracy.

It is only through democracy that societies can build the social trust that enables them to persevere in a crisis, maintain national resilience in the face of hardship, heal deep societal divisions through inclusive participation and dialogue, and retain confidence that sacrifice will be shared and the rights of all citizens respected.

It is only through democracy that independent civil society, including women and young people, can be empowered to partner with public institutions, to assist in the delivery of services, to help citizens stay informed and engaged, and to bolster social morale and a sense of common purpose.

It is only though democracy that free media can play their role of informing people so that they can make sound personal and family decisions, scrutinize government and public institutions, and counter disinformation that seeks to tear societies apart.

It is only through democracy that society can strike a sustainable balance between competing needs and priorities – between combatting the spread of the virus and protecting economic security; and between implementing an effective response to the crisis and protecting people’s civil and political rights in accordance with constitutional norms and guarantees.

It is only in democracies that the rule of law can protect individual liberties from state intrusion and constraint well beyond what is necessary to contain a pandemic.

It is only in democracies that systems of public accountability can monitor and circumscribe emergency government powers, and terminate them with they are no longer needed.

It is only in democracies that government data on the scope and health-impact of the pandemic can be believed.

Democracy does not guarantee competent leadership and effective governance.  While democracies predominate among the countries that have acted most effectively to contain the virus, other democracies have functioned poorly in responding to the pandemic and have paid a very high price in human life and economic security.  Democracies that perform poorly further weaken society and create openings for authoritarians.

But the greatest strength of democracy is its capacity for self-correction.  The COVID-19 crisis is an alarming wake-up call, an urgent warning that the freedoms we cherish are at risk and that we must not take them for granted.  Through democracy, citizens and their elected leaders can learn and grow.  Never has it been more important for them to do that.

The current pandemic represents a formidable global challenge to democracy.  Authoritarians around the world see the COVID-19 crisis as a new political battleground in their fight to stigmatize democracy as feeble and reverse its dramatic gains of the past few decades.  Democracy is under threat, and people who care about it must summon the will, the discipline, and the solidarity to defend it.  At stake are the freedom, health, and dignity of people everywhere.

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Press Release_A Call for Democracy Letter_English

 

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Institute for Peace and Democracy introduced amendments and additions to the draft of resolution of the PACE

«The functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan»

«The functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan»

Azerbaijan: call for stronger parliamentary control over the executive, plus an independent judiciary

http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-View- EN.asp?newsid=6766&lang=2&cat=3

07/09/2017 Monitoring

While welcoming the ongoing dialogue with the Azerbaijani authorities in the framework of the PACE’s monitoring procedure, the Monitoring Committee has expressed a number of concerns regarding, in particular, checks and balances, the functioning of the judiciary and freedom of expression and association.

In particular, the committee regrets the fact that the recent constitutional changes could make the executive less accountable to parliament and that judicial independence vis-à-vis the executive remains inadequate. At the same time, the parliamentarians welcomed the President of the Republic’s Executive Order on improvement of operation of the prison system and humanisation of criminal policies, and called on the authorities to quickly implement it.

Adopting a draft resolution based on a report by Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC) and Cezar Florin Preda (Romania, EPP/CD), the committee expressed concern about reports linking the Azerbaijani government to a large-scale money laundering scheme occurring in the years 2012 to 2014, used inter alia to influence the work of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as regards the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. It urged the Azerbaijani authorities to start an independent and impartial inquiry into these allegations without delay and cooperate fully with competent international authorities and bodies on this issue.

The committee is also worried by the reported prosecution and ongoing detention of NGO leaders, human rights defenders, political activists, journalists, bloggers and lawyers, while welcoming the release in 2016 and 2017 of some so-called “political prisoners”/“prisoners of conscience”. It called on the authorities to release those prisoners whose detention gives rise to justified doubts. It is also concerned about allegations of a restrictive climate for the activities of the extra-parliamentary opposition and limitations imposed on freedom of assembly.

The committee therefore calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to promptly ensure full implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights; strengthen parliamentary control over the executive; pursue the reforms of the judiciary and the prosecution service so as to ensure full independence of the judiciary from the executive; enable journalists to work freely without any pressure being exerted on them; and create an environment conducive to the activities of NGOs, including those expressing critical opinions.

The functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan

http://website-pace.net/documents/19887/3258251/20170907-AzerbaijanInstitutions- EN.pdf/1e6f0d15-1836-428b-a0c9-7f41ac8ece87

Report1

Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee)

Co-rapporteurs: Mr Stefan Schennach, Austria, SOC, and Mr Cezar Florin Preda, Romania, EPP/CD

A. Draft resolution2

1. The Assembly welcomes the readiness expressed by the authorities to engage in reform processes in the field of human rights and the rule of law and the ongoing dialogue with the authorities in the framework of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure. However the Assembly insists that this should lead to concrete results. The Assembly stands ready to provide support for the reform processes and their implementation in compliance with European standards.

2. The Assembly reiterates that respect for the principle of the separation of powers is essential and emphasises the need to develop the oversight function of the parliament over the executive in Azerbaijan. The Assembly shares the view of the Venice Commission that recent constitutional changes could make the executive less accountable to parliament.

3. The Assembly considers that the justice system in Azerbaijan must be really independent, impartial and free from interference by the executive. As recommended and acknowledged by GRECO and the CEPEJ, the extensive powers granted to the Judicial Legal Council in matters related to the appointment, promotion and disciplining of judges are to be welcomed but there are still concerns regarding the Judicial Legal Council’s composition and the fact that the executive branch continues to retain prerogatives for key senior appointments. While noticeable progress has been achieved regarding appraisal, training and ethics of prosecutors, the Assembly remains concerned about the presidential oversight of the Prosecutor’s Office. The Assembly

1 Reference to committee: Resolution 1115 (1997). 2 Adopted on 7 September 2017 by the Committee

welcomes the progress in the procedure for the selection of new judges through which

60% of the sitting judges have been selected.

This is some kind of delusion. In Azerbaijan, there is not a single independent judge. What progress has the Assembly welcomed? This is an incorrect proposal, it is better to remove it.

4. The Assembly recalls that judicial independence and impartiality are prerequisites of a criminal justice system that is compliant with European standards. As underscored by the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, the Assembly notes with concern that much more effective measures have to be taken to strengthen judicial independence vis-à-vis the executive and prosecutors. Shortcomings highlighted by the European Court of Human Rights’ jurisprudence concerning prosecutors’ actions, endorsement by the courts of prosecution’s requests, ineffective investigations, non- respect for presumption of innocence and of inequality of arms have also not yet been addressed.

5. While welcoming the ongoing reform initiated by the President of the Republic’s Executive Order on “improvement of operation of the prison system, humanisation of criminal policies and extension of application of alternative sanctions and non-custodial preventive measures”, the Assembly calls on the authorities to quickly adopt and apply the legislation required for its implementation. The Assembly remains concerned about allegations on the excessive use of pre-trial detention that should be the exception rather than the norm and on the absence of alternative sanctions. Changes in practice will primarily depend on the level of judicial independence and changes in the way law enforcement bodies work during investigations.

The political prisoners always recived the wrongful and groundless pre-trial detention: Use of pre-trial detention from May till September 2017.

1. Gozel Bayramli, member of Popular Front Party –on May 26, 2017, Baku City Sabail District court gave of 3 months pre-trial detention

2. Afghan Muxtarli, journalist – on May 31, 2017, Baku City Sabail District Court gave of 3 months pre-trial detention

3. Aziz Orujov, journalist – on June 1, 2017 Baku City Nasimi District Court gave 4 months pre-trial detention

6. The Assembly is concerned by the reported problem of arbitrary application of criminal legislation to limit freedom of expression, as highlighted by the Committee of Ministers in the framework of its supervision of the European Court of Human Right’s judgments.

In 2013-2017, 20 journalists and bloggers were arrested on criminal charges (drug trafficking, hooliganism). There are so-called group of “prisoners of facebook”,

young people who go to prison because of criticizing the policy of the authorities in Facebook. Today, we have 15 journalists and bloggers in prison:

1. Araz Guliyev, blogger on April 05, 2013 sentenced to 8 years in prison

2. Nidjat Aliyev, blogger on December 09, 2013 sentenced to 10 years in prison

3. Rashad Ramazanov, blogger on December 10, 2013 sentenced to 9 years in prison 4. Ilkin Rustamzadeh, blogger on May 06, 2014 sentenced to 8 years in prison

5. Seymur Hazi, journalist on January 29, 2015 sentenced to 5 years in prison

6. Djavid Shiraliev, journalist on May 20,2015 sentenced to 5 years in prison

7. Asad Shakarli, journalist on May 16, 2016 sentenced to 10 years in prison

8. Tofik Hasanov, blogger on August 22, 2016 sentenced to 6 years in prison

9. Afgan Sadikov, journalist on January 12, 2017 sentenced to 2,5 years in prison

10. Elgiz Gahramanov, blogger, on January 16, 2017 sentenced to 5,5 years in prison 11. Mehman Huseynov, blogger on March 3, 2017 sentenced to 2 years in prison

12. Fikret Faramazoglu, journalist on June 14,2017 sentenced to 7 years in prison

13. Elcin Ismayilli, journalist – on September 18, 2017 sentenced to 9 years in prison.

14. Afghan Muxtarli, journalist – on May 31, 2017, Baku City Sabayil District Court gave of 3 months pre-trial detention

15. Aziz Orujov, journalist – on June 1, 2017 Baku City Nasimi District Court gave 4 months pre-trial detention

7. The Assembly recalls its Resolution 2178 (2017) on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. It notes that more than 120 judgments of the Court against Azerbaijan have not yet or only partially been implemented. The Assembly notes that little progress has been made with regard to the implementation of certain groups of judgments, in particular concerning ill-treatment, violations of the right to a fair trial, freedom of expressions and freedom of assembly and association. No progress was achieved. Torture became more severe In November 2015, 4 people died as a result of torture, and in April-May 2017, 7 people died as a result of torture. These are the names of these seven:

1. Mehman Galandarov, blogger was arrested on February 07,2017, died after tortures on April 28, 2017, in Baku Detention Centre No. 1

2. Mehman Huseynov, born in 1987, was arrested on May 7, 2017 in his own house in Jamilli village of Tartar region. On May 16 his body was brought to his wife who is now raising her two little children alone.

3. Sahavat Binnatov was arrested on May 7, 2017 in his house in the village Jamilli of Tartar region. On May 17 the body of beaten to death Binnatov was returned to the family , also banned from burying him in the village cemetery. The place of burial is unknown.

4. Colonel Saleh Gafarov was arrested on May 12, 2017 in his own apartment. In four days- on May 16 his body was brought to the village and buried outside of the village by the police

5. Elchin Guliyev, resident of Tartar region was arrested on May 11, 2017. His body too was returned to the family on May 18.

6. Lieutenant Tamkin Nizamioglu, born in 1993, was arrested on May 12, 2017. His body was returned to his native village Darkand in Ordubad region (Nakchivan) in the sealed coffin. His family was not allowed to see the body or to bury him.

7. Soldier Dayandur Azizli, born in 1993, was arrested on May 12, 2017.His body was returned by police July20. His family was not allowed to see the body or to bury him.

But I think in reality died more than seven.

8. The Assembly is concerned about repressive actions against independent media and advocates of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. These actions are detrimental to effective media freedom and freedom of expression, undermine the safety of journalists and create a climate of violence against those who express divergent views. The Assembly is particularly worried by the recent amendments to the laws on internet regulation and courts’ decisions to block websites, and recalls the need for protection of fundamental rights in the digital area. The Assembly deplores the recent legislative changes, including criminal charges and prison sentences, concerning defamation on social media and reiterates its longstanding demand for decriminalisation of defamation.

9. While welcoming of the measures foreseen by the Presidential Order for the improvement of conditions in detention, the Assembly notes that prison overcrowding remains high and that living conditions in some prisons are still inadequate.

In addition to paragraph 7, I wrote about the death of 7 people from torture. There are not improvement of conditions in detention. “The measures foreseen by the Presidential Order for the improvement of conditions in detention” is just a bluff

There is no reform. Please give attention

Tortures in Gobustan prison in July –August 2017

The Gobustan prison is the prison for convicts for life imprisonment and for long periods of imprisonment. In Gobustan prison, prisoners are kept in cells. It is not allowed to walk, work, study prisoners there, meetings with relatives are rare.

In July- August 2017 Chief of the Gobustan prison Avtandil Agayev, his deputy Emin Jafarov, employees Ilkin Akhundov, Namig Agayev and workers named Rovshan, Igbal tortured the prisoners of so called “ Nardaran case”, sentenced to Gobustan prison. These officers personally tortured Abbas Huseynov, Taleh Bagirov, Jabbar Jabbarov and others.

A. Huseynov himself told the lawyer Yalchin Imanov about tourtures.

On July 22, 2017 he and another convicted Jabbar Jabbarov were taken to the Gobustan prison. As soon as they were brought there, they were immediately handcuffed and dragged along the asphalt.

Huseynov, Jabbarov and another prisoner were put face to face with a wall and kept under the scorching sun. When Huseynov announced his rights, he was told that “here is Gobustan”.

An employee named Rovshan, pointing at Huseynov, said: “This person says a lot, explain all to him,” after which he was beaten with a truncheon by the ensign Ilkin Akhundov. Then Huseynov was thrown into the punishment cell. Despite the fact that the period of detention in the punishment cell expired on July 29, Huseynov was held there until August 5.

In the punishment cell, the situation is terrible; worms and insects crawl along the floor, the toilet is there and absolute uncleanness reigns.

On July 25, Major Namiq Guliyev struck Huseynov with his fists in the stomach and in the face, threatening to torture him with an electric shock and mockingly saying: “A truncheon is an inseparable friend of a prisoner.” When Huseynov said that he would complain, the major said that “let you complain where you want.” Moreover, an act was drawn up about the alleged insult of the prison staff by Huseynov.

For 17 days in Gobustan prison, Huseynov was pronounced four reprimands. On July 26, he was taken out of the punishment cell under the pretext of meeting with the commander. However, in the courtyard of the prison, he was tied to an iron post and held for 3 hours under the scorching sun, his hands clasped in handcuffs.

On July 29, despite the completion of the detention in the punishment cell, Huseynov was returned to the punishment cell on the pretext that there were “no places in the quarantine”.

Abbas Huseynov said that on July 29, Taleh Bagirov, leader of the Movement “ Muslim Unity”, was brought to the Gobustan prison. He was kept in the next cell, and Huseynov heard how bad he was feeling. When Bagirov asked the warden Ilkin Akhundov to call a doctor, the warden began to insult the convict.

In response, Huseynov and Jabbarov began to protest, and other prisoners joined their protest, demanding that the warden be punished. A. Huseynov was threatened with sending to the so-called “tuberculosis zone” (prison for tuberculosis patients).

On August 5 Huseynov, in connection with the expiration of the “quarantine” term, was taken to the chief of the Gobustan prison Avtandil Agayev. When Huseynov began to talk about lawlessness, A.Agayev interrupted him and said: “Here is Gobustan – a place where rights end.”

After that Huseynov was thrown to the floor, and Avtandil Agayev began to beat him with a truncheon. The chief of prison struck him 30-35 strokes, including on the head. After that Huseynov was put in a punishment cell for 8 days more. In the punishment cell he was knocked down, handcuffed on his arms and legs (actually crucified), and in this condition he was kept in a punishment cell for two days.

According to the lawyer Yalchin Imanov, there are many injuries and bruises on Huseynov’s body – the back, the legs, the lower back and the knees. On the wrists and legs, there are traces of handcuffs. Huseynov moves with difficulty, limps on one leg and cannot sit.

On August 10, the lawyer of Abbas Hyseinov appealed to the Garadagh District Court. Judge Fuad Huseynov refused to consider the complaint.

10. The Assembly takes note of the internal supervision mechanism of the Ministry of Interior which has led, over the last five years, to disciplinary measures against 1 647 police officers, of which 156 were dismissed from the service, 139 demoted and 1 351 given warnings. The Assembly encourages the authorities to establish a gender balance also among police officers. The Assembly reiterates that an independent, impartial and effective complaints system for allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials is of fundamental importance for the enhancement of public trust and confidence in the law enforcement bodies and in the Azerbaijani justice system in general. It stresses the need to ensure that there is no impunity for misconduct or ill-treatment. It is of utmost importance that all allegations of torture and ill-treatment are promptly and thoroughly investigated. In this context, the Assembly deplores that to date, only four out of the ten reports on the visits of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) to Azerbaijan have been made public and that there are still six unpublished reports, concerning the periodic visits in 2011 and 2016 and ad hoc visits in 2004, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

All appeals to the courts about the use of torture are rejected by judges. August 10, 2017 judge of the Garadag District Court Fuad Huseynov dismissed the complaint of the lawyer of political prisoner Abbas Huseynov about torture in Gobustan prison .I wrote about these tortures in the appendix to paragraph No. 9

11. The Assembly welcomes the law on “Ethics Code of Members of National Parliament” to prevent corruption, which envisages measures on mandatory disclosure of conflicts of interests by MPs. However, the Assembly notes with great concern, reports linking the Azerbaijani government to a large scale money laundering scheme occurring in the years of 2012 until 2014, used inter alia to influence the work of members of the Assembly as regards the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. The Assembly urges the Azerbaijani authorities to start an independent and impartial inquiry into these allegations without delay and furthermore, cooperate fully with competent international authorities and bodies on this issue.

12. The legislative environment for the operation of non-governmental, non-commercial organisations, including the regulation of matters relating to their State registration, funding and reporting requirements has been restrictive and has been found not to be compliant with European standards by a number of Council of Europe bodies. The recent limited regulatory changes regarding grants do not fully address the legal barriers to the effective functioning and funding of NGOs. Based on existing legislation and practice, a number of local and international human rights NGOs have been prevented from operating, put under pressure and sometimes investigated. Some of the arrests, detentions and convictions of Azerbaijani human rights defenders appear to be the result of shortcomings in the NGO legislation and how it is implemented. In the light of the above, the Assembly calls on the authorities to continue the review of the law on non-governmental organisations with a view to addressing the concerns

formulated by the Venice Commission and creating a better environment for NGOs to carry out their legitimate activities including those expressing critical opinions. The Assembly welcomes the establishment of the Open Government Partnership Dialogue Platform in cooperation with the international community to strengthen cooperation, communication and partnership among State bodies and civil society organisations and contribute to further expansion of OGP principles and values in Azerbaijan. The Assembly calls on the authorities to invite all civil society organisations, NGOs and political parties to contribute to this platform. Recalling that NGOs enrich the democratic processes, the Assembly calls on the authorities to facilitate and encourage their work.

13. The Assembly is concerned by allegations of a restrictive climate for the activities of the extra-parliamentary opposition and limitations imposed on freedom of assembly. The legislation and practice governing public assemblies, which lacks foreseeability and precision, leads to public assemblies allegedly being banned, including arbitrary arrest and detention of protesters, which creates a negative effect on the exercise of the right to freedom of assembly.

14. While welcoming the release – sometimes through presidential pardon – in 2016 and 2017 of some so-called “political prisoners”/“prisoners of conscience”, which it considers a positive first step, the Assembly remains concerned by the reported prosecution and ongoing detention of NGO leaders, human rights defenders, political activists, journalists, bloggers and lawyers, based on alleged charges in relation to their work. The Assembly expresses its concern that new arrests following releases would diminish the positive signals given by the releases.

According to the list of the “Center for Protection of Political Prisoners” in September 2017 there are 145 political prisoners in custody. The largest group of political prisoners in September 2017 is peaceful believers – 88 people.

15. Taking all these concerns and developments into account, the Assembly calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to:

15.1. promptly ensure full implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and cooperate more closely with the Committee of Ministers and Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights;

15.2. review the cases of the so-called “political prisoners”/”prisoners of conscience” detained on criminal charges following trials whose conformity with human rights standards has been called into question by the European Court of Human Rights, civil society and the international community, and use all possible means to release those prisoners whose detention gives rise to justified doubts and legitimate concerns; in particular but not exclusively Ilgar Mammadov, Ilkin Rustamzade, Mehman Huseynov, Afgan Mukhtarli, and Said Dadashbayli;

Currently, 15 journalists and bloggers remain in detention. The names of all 15 people I brought to paragraph No 6

And since 2007, in custody, innocently convicted 10 people from the so-called “ Said Dadashbeyli group”

1. Farid Agayev, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison

2. Said Dadashbeyli, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison 3. Jeyhun Aliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison

4. Rashad Aliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison

5. Mikail Idrisov, in 2007 sentenced to 12 years in prison

6. Jahangir Kerimov, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison 7. Rasim Kerimov, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison

8. Samir Gojayev, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison

9. Beybala Guliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison 10. Emil Mehbaliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 12 years in prison

It is necessary to demand the release of all 10 people, not just one Saida Dadashbeyli

15.3. with regard to checks and balances: reinforce the application of the principle of the separation of powers, and in particular strengthen parliamentary control over the executive;

15.4. with regard to the judiciary:

15.4.1. pursue the reforms of the judiciary and the prosecution service so as to ensure full independence of the judiciary, especially from the executive, in order to restore public confidence in the justice system;

15.4.2. take the necessary measures to resolve the problems revealed by the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights as regards the independence, impartiality and fairness of criminal procedures;

15.4.3. refrain from using unjustified application of criminal law to limit freedom of expression;

15.4.4. ensure that pre-trial detention is only imposed as a measure of last resort and in line with the Council of Europe standards regarding necessity and proportionality and favour the application of less intrusive measures;

15.4.5. ensure also that no pressure is exerted on lawyers defending NGO representatives, political activists, human rights defenders and journalists;

In 2014 lawyers defending the rights of human rights defenders and journalists Khalid Bagirov and Alayif Hasanov were illegally expelled from the Bar Association. They must be returned to the Bar Association to the end of 2017. 15.4.6. set up a juvenile justice system;

15.5. with regard to media freedom and freedom of expression:

15.5.1. create conditions enabling journalists to carry out their work freely and ensure that no pressure is exerted on them;

15.5.2. ensure a genuinely independent and impartial review by the judiciary of cases involving journalists, fight against repression of independent journalists and ensure that there is no more prosecution of independent journalists and bloggers on allegedly trumped-up charges;

15.5.3. continue to step up efforts towards the decriminalisation of defamation in co-operation with the Venice Commission, and in the meanwhile remove high criminal sanctions, such as custodial sentences for defamation, from the Criminal Code;

15.6. with regard to freedom of association and political freedom:

15.6.1. further amend the legal framework on the functioning and financing of civil society organisations in order to bring it into full compliance with Council of Europe standards;

15.6.2. ensure that no pressure and repression is exerted against civil society organisations and their members and create an environment conducive for NGOs to operate;

15.6.3. change the domestic legislation and practice on public assemblies to comply with the requirements of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and investigate the excessive use of force by the police against peaceful protesters;

15.7. with regard to conditions of detention and allegations of torture and ill- treatment by law-enforcement agents:

15.7.1. guarantee the publication of all the unpublished CPT reports, and implement the recommendations contained in those reports;

15.7.2. ensure effective investigation into all reported cases of alleged violations with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice and take steps to establish an independent, transparent and effective complaints system for allegations of ill-treatment by enforcement officials.

Paragraphs 15.6.1 to 15.7.2 are of the nature of general recommendations. The authorities of Azerbaijan will simply ignore them.

June 23, 2015 PACE adopted Resolution 2062 (2015) on Azerbaijan, asked for the release of political prisoners, the authorities ignored this resolution.

It is necessary to write specifically, concrete :

– demand to release all 145 political prisoners until December 2017,

– Investigate the torture and murder of 7 people in April-May 2017.

– bring to responsibility the employees of law enforcement bodies, guilty in torture and murder.

If not, at the January session of the PACE will be discuss sanctions against Azerbaijan, depriving the right to vote of deputies from Azerbaijan.

B. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Stefan Schennach and Mr Cezar Florin Preda, co-rapporteurs

1. Introduction

1. On 23 June 2015, the Assembly adopted Resolution 2062 (2015) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan in which it condemned what it called “the crackdown on human rights in Azerbaijan” and called for an end to the “systemic repression” of human rights defenders, the media and those critical of the government, including politically motivated prosecutions. The Assembly called on the authorities to release all political prisoners, including those who have co-operated with the Parliamentary Assembly. The Assembly made a series of recommendations to the authorities of Azerbaijan as part of its ongoing monitoring of the country – including steps to reinforce democratic “checks and balances” in the system, ensure a fairer electoral framework, and further boost judicial independence.

2. On 9 December 2015, Mr Stefan Schennach was appointed rapporteur to replace Mr Tadeusz Iwiński and on 19 April 2016 Mr Cezar Florin Preda was appointed in replacement of Mr Agustín Conde. We have carried out a number of fact-finding visits since then: in April 2016 (Mr Schennach alone), June 2016, January 2017 and June 2017. The purpose of these visits was to assess the implementation of the recommendations made by the Assembly in June 2015.

3. Since Resolution 2062 (2015) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan, the Assembly has adopted Resolution 2085 (2016) on “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water”. In addition, Mr Alain Destexhe has been tasked by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights with the preparation of a report on “Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship of the Council of Europe: What follow-up on respect for human rights?”.

4. In the light of our discussions with multiple interlocutors during our successive visits to Azerbaijan since last year, we decided to issue a report on the functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan in order to take stock of developments since the Assembly’s last resolution of 2015. We are aware that it is impossible in such a short timespan to cover in detail all the developments currently taking place in Azerbaijan. We will therefore limit ourselves to some of the main issues and related reforms we discussed. Thus, we will look into the actual application of the principle of separation of powers, in order to understand the checks and balances in the country. The question of the independence of the judiciary is fundamental, as well as the related functioning of the criminal justice system. We will focus on the human rights situation in the country including the functioning of civil society and respect for political freedoms, the issue of the so-called “political prisoners”/”prisoners of conscience” but also prison conditions and allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials. The developments regarding media freedom and freedom of expression will also be covered. We will not

deal with the electoral processes since the last report, as they were extensively discussed in the framework of the PACE observer visits and covered by the reports issued by them. We intend to provide a detailed and in-depth analysis of the situation with regard to all the commitments and obligations in the next report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan.

5. During all our visits we met high officials including the President of the Republic, the Head of the Presidential Administration, the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, the leadership and PACE delegation of the Milli Mejlis (parliament), the Minister of the Interior, the State Security Service, the chairmen and judges of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, representatives of the Ombudsperson’s Office, representatives of religious institutions and of the Bar Association. We also held meetings with extra- parliamentary opposition parties, civil society representatives, journalists, lawyers, representatives of the international community, and persons in detention, some of their family members and persons recently released.

2. Background

6. Our discussions focused mainly on systemic issues and ongoing reforms. In addition we discussed possible reforms to prevent some problematic situations from rising again in the future. In this context, we discussed with the authorities the possibility of addressing, in close cooperation with the Council of Europe, a number of priority areas including the independence of the judiciary, the criminal justice system, the NGOs legislation and practice as well as media freedom.

7. We also paid attention to some cases of specific human rights defenders, activists, bloggers, journalists and religious activists currently in detention. We will not go into the details of each and every individual case as the examples below well illustrate the systemic problems. During our visits, we welcomed the release of some human rights defenders, political activists, bloggers and journalists, which we considered a positive first step, and expressed the hope that other activists would also soon be released.

8. The presidential pardon decree signed on 17 March 2016 released 143 human rights defenders/journalists/youth activists/political activists/NGO representatives, out of a total of 148 persons released. In addition, Rauf Mirkadirov, Intigam Aliyev and Khadija Ismayilova were released by the domestic courts that commuted their prison sentences into suspended sentences. On 16 March 2017, President Ilham Aliyev signed a new pardon decree, under which 412 individuals serving prison sentences were exempted from the remainder of their sentences. Among them are five people who were included

3 Namely human rights defenders: Taleh Khasmamadov, Rasul Jafarov, Anar Mammadli (Vaclav Havel Prize winner); chairman of the National Statehood party, Nemat Penahli; NIDA members: Rashad Hasanov, Rashadat Akhundov, Mammad Azizov; Musavat members: Tofiq Yaqublu, Yadigar Sadiqov, Akif Muradverdiyev (former government official); Journalists: Parviz Hasimov, Hilal Mammadov; bloggers Siraj Karimli and Omar Mammadov.

in the human rights organisations’ list of so-called “political prisoners”/”prisoners of conscience”.4 In the meantime, in spring 2017, two new names were added to the Amnesty International list of “prisoners of conscience” following new arrests.5

9. We discussed the situation of the so-called “political prisoners” mainly based on Amnesty International’s list of “prisoners of conscience”. We also looked at the Human Rights Watch (HRW) “list of cases of youth and political activists, journalists, bloggers, and others imprisoned in Azerbaijan on politically-motivated charges in recent years”, which includes 38 names.6 We also took into account the other lists prepared by the civil society: the “Working Group on a Unified list of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan” released in May 2017 a new list containing 146 names7; the list of so-called “political prisoners” in Azerbaijan prepared by the Monitoring Group of Human Rights Organisations in Azerbaijan, which contained 36 names; the list of so-called “political prisoners” compiled by Leyla Yunus (released in Russian in November 2016) reportedly containing 160 names.8

“<the list of so-called “political prisoners” compiled by Leyla Yunus” is the list of Center for the Protection of Political Prisoners .This Center includes Institute for Peace and Democracy, Monitoring Centre for Political Prisoners, Alliance Azerbaijan Without Political Prisoners . On September 23, 2017 ( after the release of 15 people) there are 145 political prisoners in our list.

10. During our visits to the country, we had numerous meetings with persons in detention, namely Ilgar Mammadov in Prison 2 (three times), Ilkin Rustamzade in Prison 13 (twice), Seymur Haziyev in Prison 17, Said Dadashbayli in Prison 15 (twice), Mammad Ibrahim in Prison 16, Mikail Idrisov in Prison 1, and Mehman Huseynov in Prison 14. We also met with the families of persons in detention. We had meetings with recently released persons, in particular Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunus Khadija Ismayilova, Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev, Tofig Yagublu, Rashadat Akhundov, Siraj Karimov, Hilal Mammadov, Yadigar Sadigov, Rashad Hasanov who explained the legal and practical difficulties they were facing since their release.9

11. We also looked into the situation of the religious activists in detention. We gathered information through our meetings with representatives of religious institutions and with civil society. Civil society representatives claim that a substantial number of persons are detained because of their religious affiliations, as illustrated in their list of so-called “political prisoners”. For their part, the authorities consider that these people

4 Namely exiled editor-in-chief of Azadliq newspaper Ganimat Zahid’s relatives Rufat and Rovshan Zahidov, NIDA Civic Movement member, admin of Stop Sycophants Facebook page Abdul Abilov, and Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) activist Elvin Abdullayev, journalist and political activist Faraj Karimov.

5 Namely Mehman Huseynov, blogger and Chairman of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and Afgan Mukhtarli

6 HRW also provided a list of dozens of journalists, lawyers, political activists and human rights defenders under “politically motivated travel bans”.

7 The list is undersigned amongst others by Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev, Khadiya Ismayilova, Anar Mammadli.

8 The majority of whom are religious activists.

9 See chapter 5 below.

are not detained because of their religious activities but because of criminal offences committed.

The list of our Center for the Protection of Political Prisoners on September 23, 2017 includes 88 names of peaceful believers convicted on falsified charges because of criticism of Ilham Aliyev’s policy.

12. We are aware of the so-called Nardaran case10 and we will look further into this matter during future visits.

On September 23, 2017, 64 people remain in prison of the so-called “Nardaran case.” They were subjected to the most brutal torture. Taleh Bagirov and Abbas Hysejnov are torturing till September 2017 in Gobustan prison. They are peaceful Shia believers. Arresting them, condemning innocent, authorities are pursuing a policy of artificial radicalization of peaceful believers Members of the religious movement “Muslim Unity” received from 10 to 20 years of imprisonment on the verdict of the Baku Grave Crimes Court on January 25, 2017. This verdict was condemned by Amnesty International, HRW, OMCT.

13. We extensively discussed with the authorities the so-called Said Dadashbayli group of cases, which consists of ten persons who have been detained since January 200711.11 We consider that this case does not fall under the category of so-called “religious prisoners”. However, this case is highly problematic and we are looking very seriously into the concerns expressed unanimously by all the representatives of the civil society in Azerbaijan about the reported violations of due process in relation to this set of cases.

It is necessary to demand the immediate release of all 10 illegally convicted of the so called “Group of Said Dadshbeyli”:

1. Farid Agayev, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison

2. Said Dadashbeyli, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison 3. Jeyhun Aliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison

4. Rashad Aliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison

5. Mikail Idrisov, in 2007 sentenced to 12 years in prison

6. Jahangir Kerimov, in 2007 sentenced to 14 years in prison 7. Rasim Kerimov, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison

8. Samir Gojayev, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison

9. Beybala Guliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 13 years in prison 10. Emil Mehbaliyev, in 2007 sentenced to 12 years in prison

10 On 25 January 2017, the Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced 18 men associated with the Shiite Muslim Unity Movement in Nardaran to lengthy prison terms. According to Amnesty International, the trial did not meet international standards and was marred by torture allegations. The defendants’ appeal is pending.

11 Said Dadashbeyli lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights in 2007 that was still awaiting first judicial decision (Dadashbeyli v. Azerbaijan application number 11297/09).

In January 2007, 11 people were arrested. When, they were kept in the MNS after their arrest, these people were tortured and one of them Emin Mammadov died under torture. They spent more than 10 years in prison without guilt !!! It is very important to demand the immediate release of all 10 people.

14. Lastly, in this context we expressed our concern regarding the recent arrest and detention of Nijat Amiraslanov (freelance journalist), Gozal Bayramli (deputy chair of the opposition Popular Front Party), Afgan Mukhtarli (abducted journalist and activist), Aziz Orujo (head of the online news service “Kanal 13”), as well as the case of Mehman Galandarov.

Mehman Galandarov was killed under torture on April 28, 2017 in Baku Detention Centre No. 1 No one is punished and there is no investigation.

3. Checks and balances

15. In Resolution 2062 (2015) the Assembly notes that the Azerbaijani institutional structure grants particularly strong powers to the President of the Republic and the executive. In addition to the limited competence of the Milli Mejlis under the Constitution, the Assembly draws attention to the fact that no genuine opposition forces are represented in parliament, which is detrimental to true political dialogue and effective parliamentary oversight. It recommends reinforcing the effective application of the constitutionally guaranteed principle of the separation of powers, and in particular strengthening parliamentary control over the executive and ensuring full independence of the judiciary, especially with regard to the executive.

16. We insist on the key principle of the separation of powers and emphasise the importance of the oversight function of the parliament over the executive. On 11 October 2016, the Central Election Commission announced the final results of the constitutional referendum of 26 September 2016, according to which all proposed constitutional amendments should be considered approved. On 12 October 2016, the President of the Republic signed an order related to the entry into force of the Referendum Act. In accordance with the order, the cabinet had to review and/or draft the normative and legal acts deriving from the constitutional changes within six- months, for submission to the President. On 21 February 2017, President Aliyev issued a decree appointing his wife Mehriban Aliyeva First Vice-President (a function established by the September 2016 constitutional amendments). On the same day, Ms Aliyeva was introduced to the country’s Security Council by the President.

17. In its opinion of October 2016 on the draft modifications to the Constitution of Azerbaijan,12 the Venice Commission expressed concern about the introduction of non- elected vice-presidents, who may be called on to govern the country, and about the

12 http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-AD(2016)029-e

President’s prerogative to declare early presidential elections at his/her convenience. The Venice Commission raised some serious concerns about the extension of the term of the presidential mandate to seven years, given the already very strong position of the President and the new powers added by the reform. According to the Venice Commission, the new power of the President to dissolve parliament makes political dissent in parliament largely ineffective.. The Venice Commission considers that the new powers of the President are unprecedented even in a comparative respect and that they have reduced his political accountability and weakened parliament even further.

18. Based on the above, we reiterate the Assembly’s recommendation with regard to checks and balances to reinforce the effective application of the principle of the separation of powers, and in particular strengthen parliamentary control over the executive. As mentioned in its opinion, the Venice Commission stands ready to provide its expertise in this regard.

4. Independence of the judiciary

19. In its 2015 resolution, while welcoming the recent legal changes with regard to the judiciary, the Assembly encouraged the authorities “to further ensure full independence of the judiciary and, in particular, to prevent influence and interference by the executive branch”.

20. The Minister of Justice informed us about the reforms regarding the selection procedure for judges and prosecutors, evaluation of judges, initial and continuous training of judges and prosecutors, postponement of the age of retirement for judges, salaries of judges as well as disciplinary proceedings. The selection procedure for the members of the Judicial Legal Council had been simplified and measures to increase its independence developed. We were informed that 20% of the sitting judges were women while 40% of the new candidates were women.

21. In its compliance report published in March 2017,1313 while welcoming the extensive powers granted to the Judicial-Legal Council (JLC) in matters related to the appointment, promotion and disciplining of judges, the GRECO remains concerned that the JLC can be subjected to undue interference by the executive branch. It calls for the strengthening of the role of the judiciary within the JLC itself, and especially for it to be composed of a majority of judges directly elected or appointed by their peers and chaired by a judge. Recent positive developments include the introduction of dedicated training on integrity-related matters and counselling on ethics, as well as the inclusion of all the relevant provisions of the Code of Judges’ Ethical Conduct in the evaluation of a judge’s performance. Moreover, legislation was adopted in parliament to accelerate the JLC’s decisions on lifting a judge’s immunity. Yet, despite the progress made, the executive branch continues to retain excessive prerogatives for key appointments in the judicial system. More determined measures are thus required to ensure that the Judicial

13 https://rm.coe.int/16806fe9f2

Legal Council is involved in the appointment of all categories of judges and court presidents and a transparent and impartial system should be established for the appointment to senior positions.

All this is only the appearance of reforms in the judicial system. The head of the Judicial-Legal Council is the Minister of Justice, the cousin of the president and every judge knows that he must follow orders from the presidential administration. The judges themselves speak frankly about this. It is necessary to suggest imposing sanctions against judges, who have already delivered more than two custom-made sentences to political prisoners. Aliyev will never reform the judiciary.

22. As mentioned by GRECO, noticeable progress has been achieved regarding prosecutors: disciplinary offences and the Code of Ethical Conduct have been made more consistent and improvements have been made to the periodic appraisal system. A new set of objective criteria has been introduced for hiring law enforcement officers and new guidelines have been adopted on accessory activities. Better training opportunities are now offered on integrity-related matters. However, we share GRECO’s concerns about the absence of any measure to remove the direct presidential oversight of the Prosecutor’s Office. No action has been taken to address the concerns deriving from the fact that the Prosecutor General systematically informs the President (annually and upon request) of the Service’s activities, including criminal cases under investigation. Subjecting the Prosecutor’s Office to the concurrent oversight of the Head of State, and this without any safeguards, is clearly problematic. The same is true for the fact that the presidential authority retains the faculty to influence significantly the organisation/re- organisation of the prosecutorial services. The Prosecutor’s Office is construed in Azerbaijan as an independent authority and it is essential that this be further guaranteed in law and practice.

How it is possibele to write “noticeable progress has been achieved regarding prosecutors”? It was the General Prosecutor, who authorized and is authorizing the arrests of bloggers, journalists, human rights defenders<. The General Prosecutor organized torture and murder of citizens in May 2017 in the Terter region. And when journalists began to write about these murders, they were summoned to the General Prosecutor’s Office and threatened with arrest for divulging state secrets. This is a very false statement about the « progress has been achieved regarding prosecutors».

23. We call on the authorities to pursue the reforms of the judiciary and the prosecution service to strengthen their independence and restore confidence in the justice system. We welcome the readiness expressed by the Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan to closely cooperate with the Council of Europe with regard to the justice reform.

5. Criminal justice system

24. In Resolution 2062 (2015), the Assembly was alarmed by reports by human rights defenders and international NGOs, confirmed by the Council of Europe Commissioner

for Human Rights, concerning the increase in criminal prosecutions against NGO leaders, journalists, lawyers and others who express critical opinions, based on questionable charges in relation to their work. The Assembly called on the authorities to end the systemic harassment of those who are critical of the government and to release those wrongfully detained.

25. The cases of Ilgar Mammadov14 and more recently Rasul Jafarov v. Azerbaijan15, are an illustration of the criticisms of selective justice in Azerbaijan. In its judgments, the European Court of Human Rights found that the applicants had been detained for purposes other than having committed an offence, and that there had accordingly been a violation of Article 18 of the Convention (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) taken in conjunction with Article 5 (right to liberty and security). The Strasbourg Court found, in particular, that the arrest and detention on remand of the applicants took place in the absence of any reasonable suspicion that they had committed an offence. It also found that the domestic courts had limited themselves in all their decisions to an automatic endorsement of the prosecution’s requests without having conducted a genuine review of the lawfulness of the detention. Recalling that the charges brought against the applicants were not based on reasonable suspicion, the Court further found that the actual purpose of the impugned measures was to punish the applicants: for having criticised the government and for having attempted to disseminate what he believed to be true information which the government was trying to hide (in the case of Ilgar Mammadov); for his activities in the area of human rights (in the case of Rasul Jafarov1616). Since 2014, 12 other applications were communicated by the European Court to the Azerbaijani authorities, with questions including the respect of Article 18 of the Convention.17

26. In these cases, the European Court of Human Rights explicitly stated that the domestic courts had limited their role to one of mere automatic endorsement of the prosecution’s requests and that they could not be considered to have conducted a genuine review of the “lawfulness” of the applicant’s detention (violation of Article 5 § 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights). The case of Ilgar Mammadov also concerns the violation of the applicant’s right to the presumption of innocence on account of the statements made to the press by the Prosecutor General and the Minister

14 Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan, application no. 15172/13, judgment of 22 May 2014

15 Rasul Jafarov s. Azerbaijan, application no. 69981/14, judgment of 17 March 2016.

16 The Court found that the situation of the applicant could not be viewed in isolation and that several other notable human rights activists were similarly arrested and charged with serious criminal offences entailing heavy sentences of imprisonment. For the Court, this arrest and detention appeared to be part of a larger campaign to “crack down on human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, which had intensified over the summer of 2014”.

17 Intigam Aliyev, No. 68762/14, communicated on 19 November 2014; Yunusova and Yunusov, No. 68817/14, communicated on 5 January 2015; Khadija Ismayilova, No. 30778/15, communicated on 26 August 2015; Uzeyir Mammadli, No. 65597/13 and Rashad Hasanov, No. 48653/13, both communicated on 14 December 2015; Novruzlu, No. 70106/13, Azizov, No. 65583/13, Gurbanli, No. 52464/13, the three communicated on 3 March 2016; Abdul Abilov, No. 41105/14, communicated on 21 April 2016; Omar Mammadov, No. 54846/14, communicated on 27 April 2016; Khalid Bagirov, No. 28198/15, communicated on 24 June 2016; Ilgar Mammadov (II), No. 919/15, communicated on 20 September 2016.

of the Interior encouraging the public to believe that the applicant was guilty (violation of Article 6 § 2 of the Convention). The cases of Farhad Aliyev and Muradverdiyev v. Azerbaijan1818 also concern a breach of the applicants’ right to presumption of innocence on account of statements, made to the press by law-enforcement authorities, lacking the necessary qualifications or reservations and containing wording amounting to declarations that the applicant had committed certain criminal offences.

27. In the framework of the supervision of the execution of the judgment in the case Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan, the Committee of Ministers recommended that measures be taken to avoid criminal proceedings being instituted without a legitimate basis and to ensure effective judicial review of any such attempt by the Prosecutor General’s Office. The Committee of Ministers also expressed concern about the repetitive nature of the breach of the presumption of innocence (Article 6 § 2) by the Prosecutor General’s Office and members of the government, despite several judgments of the Court which, since 2010, had indicated the precise requirements of the Convention in this regard. The Committee of Ministers insisted on the necessity of rapid and decisive action to prevent similar violations.19

28. In the framework of the execution of the Court’s cases Mahmudov and Agazade v. Azerbaijan and Fatullayev v. Azerbaijan, the Committee of Ministers adopted in December 2016 a decision20 regretting that no information had been submitted since their last examination of this group of cases on any measure taken to address the problem of arbitrary application of criminal law to limit freedom of expression, in particular to strengthen judicial independence vis-à-vis the executive and prosecutors, and to ensure the legality of the action of the prosecutors.

29. On 13 April 2017, the European Court of Human Rights released its judgment in the case of Huseynova v. Azerbaijan2121, related to the murder in 2005 of Mr Elmar Huseynov – a prominent independent journalist. The Court found a violation of Article 2 (right to life/investigation) due to the ineffectiveness and inadequacy of investigations. The Court found that there was a lack of evidence to prove the allegation that the State had in some way been involved in the murder of Ms Huseynova’s husband, or that the authorities had known or ought to have known about a real risk to his life and had failed to take measures to protect him. However, the Court considered that the investigation into the murder had not been effective, adequate or prompt, having so far lasted more than 12 years. It identified a number of shortcomings in the investigation. The Court considered in particular that no adequate steps had been taken to explore whether Mr Huseynov’s murder, apparently very carefully planned, could

18

http://hudoc.exec.coe.int/eng#{“EXECDocumentTypeCollection”:[“CEC”],”EXECAppno”:[“37138/06″],”EXE CIdentifier”:[“004-1629”]}

19 http://hudoc.exec.coe.int/eng#{“EXECIdentifier”:[“004-1866″]}

20 https://search.coe.int/cm/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=09000016806c4616

21 Huseynova v. Azerbaijan, Application No. 10653/10, judgment of 13 April 2017 [not yet final]

have been linked to his work as a journalist, despite his strongly critical articles of both the Azerbaijani Government and the opposition.

After the murder of Elmar Huseynov in March 2005, in November 2011 journalist Rafik Tagi was killed, in August 2015 journalist Rasim Aliyev was killed. None of these murders were investigated. Doctors who did not render medical aid to Rafiq Tagi and Rasim Aliyev were not punished.

30. During our meetings with lawyers and civil society we were informed of the difficulties faced by lawyers defending human rights defenders and political activists, who are reportedly subject to pressure. Some of them have reportedly been disbarred from legal practice, have been prosecuted or have been called as witnesses in cases in which they are representing a defendant with a view to removing them from the case. In September 2016, the Commissioner for Human Rights intervened before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Bagirov v. Azerbaijan concerning the disbarment of the applicant, an Azerbaijani lawyer who had been actively involved in the defence of human rights, from the Azerbaijani Bar Association, following remarks he had made at a hearing before the Sheki Court of Appeal in September 2014. According to the Commissioner for Human Rights, his disbarment exemplifies a more general practice whereby lawyers are prevented from pursuing their human rights defence work or punished for doing so. In the case of Rasul Jafarov v. Azerbaijan,22 the Court acknowledged the impediments faced by his lawyer when visiting him in prison and found violations of the right of individual petition based on the suspension of the licence of the applicants’ representative (Article 34 of the Convention).

31. In its 2015 resolution, the Assembly expressed concern about the excessive recourse to pre-trial detention and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to take the necessary measures to ensure that pre-trial detention is not imposed without considering whether it is necessary and proportionate, or whether less intrusive measures could be applied. Several judgments of the European Court of Human Rights found a violation of Article 5 of the Convention with respect to Azerbaijan23.23 During our meetings with them, the President of the Republic, the Minister of Justice, and the General Prosecutor as well as the Chairperson of the Supreme Court acknowledged the need to reduce reliance on prison sentences for mid-range offenders. Our discussions also focused on the need to establish a probation service in Azerbaijan, to develop alternative sanctions and to limit imprisonment to certain crimes and shorten the length of sentences. On 10 February 2017 the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed the Executive Order on “improvement of operation of the prison system, humanisation of criminal policies and extension of application of alternative sanctions and non-custodial preventive measures”. This executive order covers a wide range of issues such as inter alia

22 Op.cit.

23 The violations of Article 5 of the Convention concerning arrest and detention on remand are currently being examined by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the context of the Farhad Aliyev group of cases. Нарушения Статьи 5 Соглашения относительно ареста и содержания под стражей на арестованном в настоящее время исследуются Комитетом Министров Совета Европы в контексте группы Фархада Алиева случаев.

alternatives to pre-trial detention, decriminalisation of a number of offences and improvements in the management of penitentiary institutions. Roundtables were organised at the initiative of the Supreme Court, and a working group consisting of officials from the Ministry of Justice, the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Supreme Court was set up. According to the Minister of Justice, changes to the criminal code are under preparation concerning decriminalisation of certain acts in the economic sphere, alternative sanctions, alternative punishments, release on parole and conditional sentencing, and the use of preventive measures as an alternative to arrest. In the meantime, the President reportedly2424 submitted to the parliament a bill on humanisation of criminal legislation including modification of 140 articles of the criminal code. The legislation necessary for the application of the Presidential Decree needs to be adopted without delay and – most importantly – the changes will then have to be properly implemented.

32. While welcoming this positive development, we reiterate that judicial independence and impartiality, which are amongst the most challenging issues for in Azerbaijan, are a prerequisite for a criminal justice system that is compliant with European standards. We wish to reiterate that pre-trial detention should be the exception rather than the norm, as provided for by European and international standards, including the Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2006)13 on the use of remand in custody. True change in practice will first of all depend on the level of judicial independence and changes in the way law enforcement bodies work during the course of investigations.

33. Persons we met who had been recently released told us about the legal and practical difficulties they have faced since their liberation.. Some of them had been pardoned, others conditionally released by a court judgment; while a pardon clears the individual’s criminal record, conditional release through a court decision implies constraints such as presentation at a police station, a travel ban, prohibition of exercising public functions or working, freezing of bank accounts, etc. They also complained about their offices being illegally locked and the confiscation of documents (in particular the confiscation by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the files of the cases that Intigam Aliyev was bringing before the European Court of Human Rights). We were told by a number of our interlocutors from the civil society and from independent media that the bank accounts of their organisations as well as those of their employees were still frozen and that they were prevented from leaving the country, although there were no court decisions ordering a travel ban or the freezing of their bank accounts. We raised this issue with the General Prosecutor, with the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and with the Minister of Justice and we were told that such measures could only be based on court decisions.

34. On 17 May 2017, the Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement on the four-year anniversary of the arrest of Ilkin Rustamzade, a blogger and youth activist,

24 http://en.azvision.az/news/68156/azerbaijani-president-submits-to-parliament-bill-on-humanization-of- criminal-legislation.html

imprisoned since 17 May 2013. He also referred to the cases of Ilgar Mammadov. He mentioned that Bayram Mammadov and Giyas Ibrahimov had been sentenced to ten years of prison on drug charges respectively in December and October 2016 after having been arrested in May 2016 for spraying graffiti on a statue of the former president. The arrest of Mehman Huseynov was also mentioned. He reiterated his call to the Azerbaijani authorities to uphold their human rights obligations and release immediately all persons in detention because of views they have expressed or legitimate civic activity.

35. We remain concerned regarding the absence of a separate juvenile justice system in Azerbaijan. There is hardly any difference between the treatment of children and adults by the criminal justice system. Children are detained without any consideration of alternatives to detention such as educational measures, referral to social services and probation. We discussed with the authorities the need for a comprehensive juvenile justice system based on the development of a wide range of measures to ensure the best interests of the child, such as care, guidance and supervision, counselling, probation, foster care, educational programmes, and other alternatives to institutional care. We welcome the work being carried out in the framework of pilot projects supported by donors and the will expressed by the authorities to establish a juvenile justice system, and we sincerely hope that this will be done soon.

6. Prisons and law enforcement: conditions of detention and allegations of ill- treatment

36. We were informed by the Minister of Justice of the other measures foreseen by the Presidential Order mentioned above to improve conditions of detention, notably the modernisation of penitentiary infrastructures, strengthened control over prison conditions, training of staff, increasing transparency and preventing corruption. We were told that new penitentiary institutions have been built in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Sheki. The construction of institutions for women and minors is under way in Ganja and Lankaran, Zabrat Settlement of Baku and Umbaki. The Minister of Justice also informed us of the recent amnesty laws aimed at reducing prison overcrowding. While acknowledging the measures taken to improve conditions of detention, including the building of new prison facilities, we are concerned by the high level of overcrowding and the poor living conditions in some prisons.

Terrible conditions of detention and torture in Gobustan prison. I described this situation in the appendix to paragraph No. 9 : Tortures in Gobustan prison in July –August 2017.

Mr. Stefan Schennach visited Gobustan prison on September 16, 2017. We do not know with whom he met in prison. But he did not meet with Abbas Huseynov and Taleh Bagirov, who were tortured in this prison by the Chief of the Gobustan prison Avtandil Agayev, his deputy Emin Jafarov. Lawyer Yalchin Imanov met with T.Bagirov and A.Huseynov 22 September and wrote that they did not met with Mr. Stefan Schennach.

37. More particularly, we are alarmed by the insufficient material and sanitary conditions of detention in Prison 13. One of the dormitories that we visited (during our January 2017 visit) accommodated 123 inmates on very narrow (50 cm) double bunk beds. The dormitory was apparently not equipped with a proper heating system (very cold in winter) or with air-conditioning (reportedly suffocating in summer). The sanitary annex adjacent to the dormitory was composed of only one urinal and two toilets lacking privacy, as well as three washbasins which were dirty and in a poor state of repair. Access to showers did not appear to be sufficient. The prison is located on wetlands causing humidity in the barrack-like buildings. Furthermore, the only access road is in a dire state of repair with deep potholes due to heavy truck traffic convoys from the SOCAR extraction site nearby. Concerning the prison for women that we visited during one of our previous visits, we were informed of problems in accessing menstrual products while in prison which causes hygiene problems but is also a source of tension between inmates. All female inmates should be freely provided with feminine hygiene products.

38. We ask the authorities to authorise the publication of all CPT25 reports, recalling the clear message given by the Committee of Ministers in February 2002 encouraging “all Parties to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to authorise publication, at the earliest opportunity”. So far, only four out of the ten reports on the CPT’s visits to Azerbaijan have been made public. There are still six remaining unpublished reports, concerning the periodic visits in 2011 and 2016 and ad hoc visits in 2004, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

39. We express our concern over the death of Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Galandarov, who was found hanged in his cell in Baku Detention Centre No. 1 on 28 April 2017 ( this official version is not thrush. I stay myself in Baku Detention Centre No. 1 It is impossible to hang yourself in this cell), and we call on the Azerbaijani authorities to conduct an effective investigation into the circumstances of his death in custody. Until now we have been given only partial replies to our questions and we still wish to receive information regarding the investigations into this case. We recall the State’s heightened responsibility to protect the human rights of persons in detention. On 4 May 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Azerbaijani Government had violated the right to life (Article 2 of the Convention) of Mahir Mustafayev26, in that it both failed to protect his life and failed to conduct an effective investigation into the circumstances of his death in custody (he died from severe burns as a result of a fire in his cell in December 2006). In the context of prisoners, the Court has repeatedly emphasised that persons in custody are in a vulnerable position and that the authorities have a duty to protect them. As a general rule, the mere fact that an individual dies in suspicious circumstances while in custody should raise an issue as to whether the State

25 European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

26 Judgment in the case Mustafayev v. Azerbaijan (application no. 47095/09), 4 May 2017 (not yet final)

has complied with its obligation to protect that person’s right to life.27 It is incumbent on the State to account for any injuries suffered in custody, an obligation which is particularly stringent when an individual dies.28

26 June, 2017- The European court has started consideration on the occasion of the death of Elshad Babayev .Elshad Babayev died from torture in 2014 in prison number 14 . In October 2015 – died the only witness in the Elshad Babayev case Y.Nuriyev .

The investigation is not carried out .

40. We remain concerned about reports of torture and ill-treatment of journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and youth activists during arrest or when in custody. We are particularly worried by the case of Mehman Huseynov, blogger and Chairman of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS). We discussed his case with the authorities as well as with the Ombudsperson’s office. We met with Mehman Huseynov in Prison 14. We must insist again on the need to truly investigate his allegations of ill-treatment and torture and to hold accountable those responsible. We expressed our amazement and regret at his conviction for slander for having denounced ill-treatment and torture, and at his current detention.

41. The Minister of the Interior informed us about the internal supervision mechanism of his Ministry: over the last five years 1 259 violations of rights and freedoms by law enforcement agents were reportedly identified. The related investigations led to disciplinary measures against 1 647 police officers, of which 156 had been dismissed from the service, 139 demoted, and 1 351 given warnings.

42. In our meetings with the Ombudsperson’s office, we were informed that 23 people work for the National Preventive Mechanism and carry out numerous visits of places of detention. While welcoming the establishment of the National Preventive Mechanism within the Ombudsperson’s office in 2011, we are concerned about the mechanism’s limited effectiveness in preventing torture and ill-treatment and other violations in places of deprivation of liberty.

43. We reiterate that an independent, impartial and effective complaints system for allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials is of fundamental importance for the enhancement of public trust and confidence in the police and in the justice system and for ensuring that there is no impunity for misconduct or ill-treatment, as provided by the 2011 guidelines of the Committee of Ministers on eradicating impunity for serious human rights violations29. It is of utmost importance that all allegations of torture and ill-treatment are promptly and thoroughly investigated. An independent,

27 See Slimani v. France, no. 57671/00, § 27; Geppa v. Russia, no. 8532/06, § 70, 3 February 2011; and Karsakova v. Russia, no. 1157/10, § 48, 27 November 201.

28 28 Salman v. Turkey [GC], no. 21986/93, § 99; Shumkova v. Russia, no. 9296/06, § 89, 14 February 2012; Çoşelav v. Turkey, no. 1413/07, § 53, 9 October 2012).

29 https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectID=09000016805cd111

transparent and effective complaints system for allegations of ill-treatment by enforcement officials should promptly be established in Azerbaijan.

On August 10, 2017 judge of Garadagh District Court Fuad Huseynov dismissed the complaint of lawyer Yalchin Imanov about torture against Abbas Huseynov in Gobustan prison. In September 2014 lawyer Alayif Hasanov apply to court about tortures against Leyla Yunusova in Baku Detention Centre No. 1. The lawyer was punished and expelled from the Bar Association.

Political prisoners Rufat Safarov and Javid Shiraliyev, who serve prison sentences in Prison No. 9, have been on hunger strike for an indefinite period since September 21, 2017. The protesters protest against the lawlessness in Prison No. 9, including inhuman treatment of the prisoners, unjustified custody in the punishment cell, division of the inmates into privileged and not privileged, and corruption.

7. Media freedom and freedom of expression

44. In Resolution 2062 (2015), the Assembly expressed deep concern about the increasing number of reprisals against independent media and advocates of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan and deplored the arbitrary application of criminal legislation to limit freedom of expression, in particular the reported use of different criminal laws against journalists and bloggers. It recommended taking all the necessary measures for ensuring a genuinely independent and impartial review by the judiciary of cases involving journalists and others expressing critical opinions of the authorities.

Today on September 23, 2017, 15 journalists and bloggers, convicted for criticizing Ilham Aliyev’s policy are imprisoned:

1. Araz Guliyev, blogger on April 05, 2013 sentenced to 8 years in prison

2. Nidjat Aliyev, blogger on December 09, 2013 sentenced to 10 years in prison

3. Rashad Ramazanov, blogger on December 10, 2013 sentenced to 9 years in prison

4. Ilkin Rustamzadeh, , blogger on May 06, 2014 sentenced to 8 years in prison

5. Seymur Hazi, journalist on January 29, 2015 sentenced to 5 years in prison

6. Djavid Shiraliev, journalist on May 20,2015 sentenced to 5 years in prison

7. Asad Shakarli, journalist on May 16, 2016 sentenced to 10 years in prison

8. Tofik Hasanov, blogger on August 22, 2016 sentenced to 6 years in prison

9. Afgan Sadikov , journalist on January 12, 2017 sentenced to 2,5 years in prison

10. Elgiz Gahramanov, blogger, on January 16, 2017 sentenced to 5,5 years in prison

11. Mehman Huseynov, blogger on March 3, 2017 sentenced to 2 years in prison

12. Fikret Faramazoglu , journalist on June 14,2017 sentenced to 7 years in prison

13. Elcin Ismayilli, journalist – on September 18, 2017 sentenced to 9 years in prison.

14. Afghan Muxtarli, journalist – on May 31, 2017, Baku City Sabail District Court gave of 3 months pre-trial detention

15. Aziz Orujov , journalist – on June 1, 2017 Baku City Nasimi District Court gave 4 months pre-trial detention

45. In the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Azerbaijan 162nd out of 180 countries, concluding that “independent journalists and bloggers are thrown in prison if they do not first yield to harassment, beatings, blackmail, or bribes. Some independent media, such as Zerkalo and Azadlig, have been completely economically stifled. Others, such as Radio Azadlig, have been closed by force. In response to international pressure, the regime released the most famous imprisoned journalists at the start of 2016 but arrested others in the months that followed.” Azerbaijan is rated Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2017, and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2016.30

46. Some of the media representatives we met complained about economic and financial pressure exerted by the authorities. They claim that the allocation of State advertising and State subsidies is not conducted transparently and that financial losses caused by state control of the advertising market and distribution networks have led to the closure of a number of media outlets. Opposition outlets are also subject to other forms of economic pressure, including exorbitant fines resulting from defamation suits. We received reports of interference with media freedom through revocation of licences. On 5 April 2017, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan heard a cassation appeal against the decision of the National TV and Radio Council to abolish the licence of the ANS radio station, which had been deprived of a broadcasting license in September 2016 after ANS ran a preview of an interview with Fethullah Gülen. The Gülen-linked newspaper Zaman-Azerbaijan and Zaman.az webpage were also shut down. Azadliq, the main opposition newspaper in Azerbaijan, has reportedly31 been forced to stop publishing following the arrest (after arrest) and sentencing of their financial director, Faiq Amirli, who is accused of being an imam in the Gülenist movement32, and ongoing financial pressures from State-owned or affiliated companies.

47. In its Interim resolution of June 2016 on the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases Mahmudov and Agazade and Fatullayev v. Azerbaijan33 revealing the problem of the arbitrary application of criminal legislation to limit freedom of expression, the Committee of Ministers called on the authorities to strengthen judicial independence vis-à-vis the executive and prosecutors, ensure the legality of the action of prosecutors. The issue of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan indeed needs to be considered in relation with the lack of independence of the judiciary. The Commissioner for Human Rights34 as well as the Committee of Ministers have repeatedly stated that the arbitrary application of criminal legislation to limit freedom of expression raises serious concerns in particular on account of the reported use of

30 https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2017/azerbaijan

31 https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/all-alerts/-/soj/alert/22403534

32 Faig Amirli was sentenced by Sabail district court of Baku on 24 July 2017 to three years and three months of imprisonment and a fine of 39,050 AZN on charges of inciting religious hatred and tax evasion. 33 Interim Resolution CM/ResDH(2016)145 on the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Mahmudov and Agazade against Azerbaijan Fatullayev against Azerbaijan adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 8 June 2016 at the 1259th meeting of Ministers’ Deputies.

34 See for example: https://rm.coe.int/ref/CommDH(2016)6

different criminal laws against journalists and bloggers. The Commissioner stressed the need to take measures to ensure a genuinely independent and impartial review by the judiciary of cases involving journalists and others expressing critical voices.

48. In March 2017, amendments to the laws on internet regulation were adopted, giving new powers to the government and domestic courts to block websites. A bill of amendments to the laws on “Information, Informatisation and Protection of Information” and “Telecommunications” was adopted, prohibiting the posting of material promoting violence, religious extremism, terrorism, and ethnic, racial, or religious hatred or calling for the forceful seizure of power. The amendments also ban online distribution of false information and material that is offensive or violates privacy. The new legislation authorises the Azerbaijani Government, subject to judicial review, to ban sites for posting content deemed to promote violence, hatred, or extremism, violate privacy, or which constitute slander.

49. The Sabail District Court in Baku decided on 12 May 2017 to block the websites of five news outlets: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Azerbaijani Service (azadliq.org), Meydan TV (meydan.tv), Azadliq Daily (azadliq.info), Turan TV (kanalturan.com), and Azerbaijani Hour (Azerbaycansaati.com and Azerbaycansaati.tv). The ruling came in response to a decree by the Communications and High Technologies Ministry, which had limited access to the sites since 27 March 2017 through an order from the Prosecutor-General’s Office stating that the outlets pose a threat to Azerbaijan’s national security. These developments have been seen by the civil society as evidence that Azerbaijan does not enjoy freedom on the internet and as an attempt to silence independent reporting in the country.35

50. The internet has radically transformed the way we access information and communicate, creating new opportunities for strengthening democracy, but also restricting human rights. There is a need to effectively protect human rights on the net, by shaping the internet as a safe and open environment, respectful of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, diversity, culture and education. The Council of Europe has issued guidelines to member States to make sure that any restrictions to freedom of expression, such as through internet blocking and filtering, comply with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Committee of Ministers adopted a recommendation on internet freedom,36 recalling that any national decision or action restricting human rights and fundamental rights on the internet must comply with international obligations. We insisted in our meetings with the authorities on the importance for these standards to be duly taken into account in legislative processes.

35 https://freedomhouse.org/article/azerbaijani-court-bans-independent-media-websites 36 https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=09000016806415fa

51. In its Resolution 2141 (2017) on attacks against journalists and media freedom in Europe,37 the Assembly “recalling the decision adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 6-8 December 2016 on Mahmudov and Agazade group of cases against Azerbaijan *<. + regrets the absence of information on measures taken to ensure the adequacy of legislation on defamation and expresses, in this context, grave concern in the face of recent legislative amendments to the Criminal Code introducing new defamation offences subject to imprisonment, irrespective of whether incitement to violence or hatred is involved.” The parliament adopted at the end of 2016 amendments to the Criminal Code extending the application of liability for discrediting the honour and dignity of the President to include expressions made online.38 The amendments also expand the criminal provisions on slander and insult to online expression by introducing aggravated responsibility for using fake usernames or accounts. The penalties include prison sentences.39 On 31 May 2017, the Parliament40 further reinforced the punishment for discrediting the honour and dignity of the President of the Republic in the media or the Internet. In particular, amendments foresee an increased punishment of up to five years of imprisonment and/or a fine of 1500-2500 manats (previously 500-1000 manats). If such expressions are placed on fake accounts and profiles, the fine is increased to 2000-3000 manats (previously 1000-1500 manats).

52. We reiterate the recommendations of the Assembly in its 2015 resolution to speed up efforts towards the decriminalisation of defamation, in co-operation with the Venice Commission. The recent conviction to two years’ imprisonment of the blogger Mehman Huseynov for defamation41 is unacceptable. Defamation should never be a criminal matter, but jailing Mehman Huseynov for denouncing police brutality is a particularly telling development.

53. A positive development in 2016 was the release of several imprisoned journalists. The presidential amnesty of 17 March 2016 freed journalists Parviz Hashimli, Hilal Mammadov, and Tofig Yagublu, and bloggers Siraj Karimli and Omar Mammadov. Journalist Rauf Mirgadirov was conditionally released the same day. In May 2016, the Supreme Court suspended investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova’s prison sentence but she still remains on probation, with a ban on professional activities and a travel ban. However, these releases did not signal a genuine opening up towards media freedom as

37 See the full text of the resolution here.

38 Amended Article 323.1 of the Criminal Code (smearing or humiliating the honour and dignity of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic in public statement, publicly shown content or mass media) provides for an extension of defamation against the President to expression on the Internet. The penalty will be a fine from 500 to 1,000 manats, or correctional labour up to two years, or imprisonment for a period of 2 years.

39 New Article 148-1 of the Criminal Code: content constituting libel or insult produced from fake profiles or accounts is punishable by a fine of 1000 to 1500 AZN, community service for 360 to 480 hours, corrective labour for up to two years, or imprisonment for up to one year.

40 http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/5/subsc/politics%20news/en/62748.htm

41 https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/all-alerts/-/soj/alert/22168695

a number of other media professionals were detained, arrested, or convicted during the same year.

Currently, 15 journalists and bloggers convicted for criticizing Ilham Aliyev’s policy are imprisoned

54. The most recent alerts in the Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists42 include the re-arrest of Azerbaijani Director of Internet Television Aziz Orujov; the sentencing of Azerbaijani Chief Editor of News Website Fikret Faramazoglu to seven years on extortion charges; the abducting, detention and prosecution of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli; the sentencing of freelance journalist Nijat Amiraslanov to 30 days imprisonment; the sentencing of Mehman Huseynov to two years on defamation charges; the pre-trial detention of Elchin Ismayilli, charged with extortion and abuse of a position of influence; and the arrest and pre-trial detention for three months of Azerbaijani Journalist and editor in chief Afgan Sadikhov. The Platform still includes the case of the death, on 9 August 2015, of journalist Rasim Aliyev, Chairman of the Institute for Reporters Safety and Freedom (IRSF), who succumbed to his wounds after being severely beaten because of what he had written about soccer player Javid Huseynov. On 1 April 2016, a Baku court convicted five men, including Javid Huseynov, to sentences of 9 to 13 years of prison for grievous bodily harm causing the death of Rasim Aliyev. On 12 October 2016, Baku Appeal Court reduced Javid Huseynov’s sentence from four years to one year two months, and as the latter term had already been served, the footballer was released. According to IRFS,43 the medical personnel at City Clinical Hospital allegedly failed to provide the necessary medical care to Rasim Aliyev. An application was sent to the European Court of Human Rights in this regard. The Platform also mentions the State Fund for the “Support of Mass Media Development in Azerbaijan” providing free government housing grants to some journalists.44 Several media representatives and journalists have criticised this State initiative as undermining journalists’ independence.

55. During our last visit we extensively discussed the situation of Afgan Mukhtarli, expressing our worries regarding his alleged abduction in Georgia and unlawful transfer to Azerbaijan, and regarding his current detention in Azerbaijan. We share the concerns expressed by the General Rapporteur on Media Freedom and the Safety of Journalists’ regarding the intensification of repression against the independent press in Azerbaijan aimed notably at silencing investigative journalists such as Afgan Mukhtarli and support his calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release him.45 The European Court of Human Rights is considering an application from Afgan Mukhtarli within its priority policy.

42 https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/azerbaijan

43 https://www.irfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Unsolved-Murder-of-Rasim-Aliyev.pdf

44 A first “Journalists’ House” built in the Bibiheybat settlement of Baku by state budget funds was commissioned in 2013. A total of 156 journalists were allotted apartments there. The second “Journalists’ House” will host 255 journalists. Broadcasting companies were allowed to nominate up to 10 candidates; daily newspapers and news agencies up to six candidates; weekly publications, news portals and websites up to three candidates.

45 http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-View-EN.asp?newsid=6694&lang=2&cat=21

56. We also discussed the case of Aziz Orujov, director of internet television Kanal 13, who was re-arrested on 1 June 2017 in Azerbaijan. On 2 May 2017 he was found guilty by a court for disobedience to a lawful order by a police officer and sentenced to 30 days. On 1 June 2017, two hours before his expected release, he was taken to the Serious Crimes Investigation Department, charged with illegal entrepreneurship with large income and abuse of official power, and put in pre-trial detention for four months.46 This case seems to be symptomatic of a worrying trend of adding new charges against the person in order not to release him at the end of the completed sentence.

8. Civil society and political freedoms

57. The issue of the functioning and funding of the civil society remains of concern. Over the past few months, the Azerbaijani government has introduced some changes to regulations governing the work of NGOs. However, the changes are limited to only certain rules and do not address the fundamental legislative obstacles identified by the Assembly itself as needing to be amended.

58. In Resolution 2062 (2015), the Assembly called on the authorities to review the law on NGOs with a view to addressing the concerns expressed by the Venice Commission and to creating an environment conducive to the work of civil society. It considered as extremely worrying that the shortcomings in the country’s NGO legislation had negatively affected the NGOs’ ability to operate. The strict control of NGOs by State authorities was likely to interfere with the right to freedom of association guaranteed by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this regard, the Assembly condemned the crackdown on human rights in Azerbaijan where working conditions for NGOs and human rights defenders had significantly deteriorated and some prominent and recognized human rights defenders, civil society activists and journalists were behind bars. The Assembly called on the authorities to review the law on NGOs in line with the Venice Commission’s recommendations. In Resolution 2096 (2016),47 the Assembly reiterated its call on Azerbaijan to amend its legislation on NGOs in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

59. In our discussions, we repeatedly encouraged the authorities to cooperate with the Venice Commission in reforming the legislation on NGOs. The Venice Commission already issued two opinions (in 201048 and 201449) on the NGO legislation, recommending the simplification and decentralisation of the registration process, the adoption of specific measures to ensure full respect of the legislative requirements and to prevent contra legem practices, as well as to limit the grounds for refusal of registration to serious deficiencies. The Venice Commission also considered that the

46 https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/all-alerts/-/soj/alert/27247008

47 Resolution 2096 (2016) How can inappropriate restrictions on NGO activities in Europe be prevented? 48 http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-AD(2011)035-e

49 http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2014)043-e

requirement for international NGOs to create local branches and representations and obtain State registration, as well as the related limitations should be reconsidered. Foreign funding of NGOs should be authorised unless there are clear and specific reasons not to do so, and the procedure for obtaining the right to give a grant for international organisations, if maintained, should be associated with clear criteria and procedural indications clearly laid down in the legislation. According to the Venice Commission, provisions allowing unwarranted interferences into the internal autonomy of NGOs, i.e. reporting obligations and State supervision of NGOs’ internal organisation and functioning should be removed.

60. The various aspects of the legislation relating to NGOs in Azerbaijan together with its application in practice have been found not to be compliant with European standards by a number of Council of Europe bodies.50 Civil society representatives as well as representatives of the international community in Baku said that despite the adoption of amendments to the NGO legislation in 2015,51 and 201652, the legal framework had not improved and the legal barriers to effective functioning of NGOs remained in place. According to them the amendments to the NGO legislation adopted over the last three years also restricted funding of civil society organisations by foreign donors. NGOs cannot operate effectively without registration because of the practical obstacles. Yet, registration still remains a challenge for NGOs and it is difficult to register as either a domestic or a foreign NGO in Azerbaijan. We were told that Azerbaijani NGOs have a limited capacity to comply with all the requirements, including reporting requirements, as well as registration of any change to their founding documents. Foreign NGOs risk liability for operating local branches without State registration which implies entering into an agreement with the government based on vague criteria. These rules grant broad discretion to the government leading to an important number of denials of registration. Access to funding has also been affected by the legislation as donor organisation and donor recipients have to obtain approval from the authorities. We were told by a number of representatives of the civil society that the above circumstances have forced a number of NGOs to operate on the fringes of the law without registration so as to be able to continue securing funding for their activities, putting them under threat of punishment for non-compliance and facing possible criminal prosecution. Since 2014, a large-scale prosecution was launched against domestic and international NGOs. There were arrests, interrogations and convictions of

50 Venice Commission, CDL-AD(2011)035, op. cit., paragraph 117; Venice Commission CDL-AD(2014)043, “Opinion on the Law on non-governmental Organisations (Public Associations and Funds) as amended of the Republic of Azerbaijan”, adopted by the Venice Commission at its 101st Plenary Session (Venice, 12-13 December 2014); Report of 6 August 2013 by Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, following his visit to Azerbaijan from 22 to 24 May 2013 CommDH(2013)14; Report of 23 April 2014 of the Commissioner for Human Rights “Observations on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan: An update on freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, and the right to property”, CommDH(2014)10.

51 Law on amendments to the “registration law” of 6 October 2015.

52 Law of 4 March 2016 amending the code of administrative offenses.

employees and NGO leaders, closure and seizures of bank accounts, and travel bans. Tax inspections of NGO activities were carried out and heavy penalties were given. As a result, many NGOs closed down or left the country.

61. The authorities themselves acknowledge some problems regarding the implementation of the NGO legislation including the legislation on grants. We were told by the authorities that a Government-Civil Society Dialogue Platform had been established with the participation of NGO and State agency representatives. State financial support was reportedly provided to NGOs through the State Council for Support to NGOs, under the auspices of the President of the Republic. Yet, organisations exclusively funded by the State might have difficulties in maintaining their independence. We were also told by the authorities that discussions were being held with civil society institutions to improve the working conditions for NGOs, and that the NGO legislation was being reformed, notably regarding the rules on registering grant agreements and the provision of grants by foreign donors. According to the civil society, these changes have slightly mitigated certain problematic aspects of the regulatory framework but most of them remain.

There are no independent NGOs in Azerbaijan that can work with an official registration and has bank account. All the NGOs operating in the country stay under the control of the authorities.

62. The most recent changes concerning grants were adopted in January 2017 by the Cabinet of Ministers53 as a follow-up to the October 2016 Presidential Decree on Simplification of Registration of Foreign Grants in Azerbaijan calling for the application of a “one stop shop” approach for foreign grants registration. And yet, the Law on Grants and the Law on State Registration and the State Register of Legal Entities remain unchanged. While simplifying some procedures for registration of foreign grants and reducing the number of required documents, these changes do not address the legal requirement for NGOs to register grants, nor eliminate the requirement for the Ministry of Finance to provide an opinion on the expediency of each grant from a foreign donor. In addition the multi-step complex registration procedure for grants and foreign donors remains in place. NGOs still need to register all changes, including minor changes, to their founding documents and obtain a registration certificate every two years; NGOs must register grants with the Ministry of Justice; foreign donors are required to register every grant individually and an opinion on the purposefulness (expediency) of the grant remains a requirement. More importantly, the regulatory changes do not address the legal barriers to the effective functioning of NGOs.

63. As highlighted by the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, there are long-standing problems with the State registration of NGOs in Azerbaijan, concerning which the Court found violations of Article 11 of the Convention concerning

53 Cabinet of Ministers’ decisions N°4 and N°12 of 11 and 24 January 2017 introducing changes to the Rules for Registration of Grant Agreements (Decisions) and the Rules for Foreign Donors’ Acquisition of the Right to Give Grants on the Territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

arbitrary delays in State registration of NGOs, denials of registration and cancellation of registration.54 Even after the reforms to the registration procedures, the European Court of Human Rights was still receiving new applications concerning the refusal of the government to register NGOs, which were communicated to the government.55 According to the Court, in the case of Rasul Jafarov v. Azerbaijan56 of March 2016,57 the new onerous regulations, coupled with the reportedly intransigent and arbitrary manner in which they were applied by the authorities, made it increasingly difficult for NGOs to operate. A number of recent amendments to various legislative instruments introduced additional registration and reporting procedures and heavy penalties. The Court noted that the legislative environment regarding the operation of non- governmental, non-commercial organisations, including the regulation of matters relating to their State registration, funding and reporting requirements, had grown increasingly harsh and restrictive.

64. We were informed that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI),58 a coalition of governments, companies, and non-governmental groups, fostering open public debate about the use of oil, gas, and mining revenues, decided to suspend Azerbaijan. It considered that “it lacks an enabling environment for civil society, a violation of the initiative’s requirements on multistakeholder engagement,” and gave the authorities a deadline until July 2017 to improve the situation. The Azerbaijani authorities subsequently decided to withdraw from the EITI.

65. The worries already expressed by the Assembly in June 2015 with regard to the negative effect of the NGO legislation on the existence of NGOs and their ability to operate and get funding can only be confirmed with the current legislation and practice. As reported by the Commissioner for Human Rights,59 as a result of the legislative changes, not only a number of local and international human rights NGOs have been prevented from operating, but they have also been put under pressure, dissolved and often investigated and prosecuted. A number of the arrests, detentions and conviction of Azerbaijani human rights defenders appear to be the result of shortcomings in the NGO legislation and how it is implemented.

54 Ramazanova and Others v. Azerbaijan, no. 44363/02, 1 February 2007; Nasibova v. Azerbaijan, no. 4307/04, 18 October 2007; Ismayilov v. Azerbaijan, no. 4439/04, 17 January 2008; and Aliyev and Others v. Azerbaijan, no. 28736/05, 18 December 2008.

55 НОВОСТИ – АЗЕРБАЙДЖАН – © TURAN NEW AGENCY

56 http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{“itemid”:[“001-161416”]}

57 Rasul Jafarov v. Azerbaijan, Application no. 69981/14, judgment of 17 March 2016

58 The EITI requires member governments to foster “an enabling environment for civil society” and to “refrain from actions which result in narrowing or restricting public debate in relation to implementation of the EITI.”

59 See in particular Commissioner for Human Right’s Third party intervention by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights under Article 36, paragraph 3, of the European Convention on Human Rights. Application No. 30778/15, Khadija Ismayilova v. Azerbaijan.

66. NGOs enrich democratic processes and need to be encouraged not impeded. We call on the authorities to facilitate the work of NGOs and to promptly bring the legislative framework on NGOs and related practice fully into line with Council of Europe standards.

67. The extra-parliamentary opposition parties have complained about the absence of any political dialogue between them and the ruling majority, and the restrictive climate for their activities. They deplored in particular the limitations imposed on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and the lack of access to the public media. The Chairman of the Popular Front Party denounced the repression against his party members. The Executive Secretary of the Republican Alternative Movement (REAL) complained that the case against him on charges of illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of office was still opened and that he was subject to travel ban. Our attention was drawn in particular to the restrictions to the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly, notably the need to ask for permission in practice instead of the advanced notification required by law, as well as the alleged violent responses to peaceful protests and arrest of demonstrators including during the pre-referendum campaign in September 2016.

1. Ilgar Mamedov – on March 17, 2014 sentenced to 7 years in prison

2. Asif Yusifli –on July 31, 2015 sentenced to 7,5 years in prison

3. Mamed Ibrahim – on March 15, 2016 sentenced to 3 years in prison

4. Fuad Gahramanli – on January 25, 2017 sentenced to 10 years in prison 5. Fuad Ahmedli –on July 16, 2017 sentenced to 4 years in prison

6. Elnur Farajev – on May 3, 2017 sentenced to 3 years in prison

7. Gozel Bayramli – on May 26, 2017 received of 3 months pre-trial detention

68. In its case law with regard to Azerbaijan, the European Court of Human Rights60 stresses its serious concern about the lack of foreseeability and precision of the legislation governing public assemblies, and about the possibility of public assemblies being abusively banned or dispersed. In particular, the system of notification set out in Article 49 of the Azerbaijani Constitution has been replaced in practice by a system of authorisation. The Court also notes that interference with the applicants’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly, in the form of their arbitrary arrest and detention, or a prior ban, can have a chilling effect on other opposition supporters and on the public at large. The Gafgaz Mammadov group v. Azerbaijan,61 pending execution before the Committee of Ministers, raises a complex problem stemming from the non-compliance of the domestic legislation on public assemblies with the requirements of Article 11 of

60 Gafgaz Mammadov v. Azerbaïdjan, Application N° 60259/11, judgment of 15.10.2015; nine similar judgments were classified as clones of the Gafgaz Mammadov group before the Committee of Ministers. See also recent Court’s recent judgment in the cases Mirzayev and Others v. Azerbaijan (nos. 12854/13, 28570/13, and 76329/13) of 20 July 2017 [not yet final].

61 http://hudoc.exec.coe.int/eng#{“EXECIdentifier”:[“004-1743”]}

Currently, on September 23, 2017, 7 members of opposition parties and movements remain in detention. The lawyers of our Institute for Peace and Democracy conduct monitoring of all trials with politic motivation. These sentences are illegal, unreasonable, unfair and inhumane:

the Convention, and in its last decision of 6-7 June 2017 the Committee of Ministers urged the authorities to provide without further delay a comprehensive action plan on individual and general measures taken.

53 civil society activists were detained on September 21-22, 2017 on the eve of the opposition rally on September 23

69. Commenting on the situation in Azerbaijan, the Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly stated62 62 that no authorisation should be required for the holding of public demonstrations and that the system of notification should be applied in accordance with European standards. Due process standards must be respected in proceedings brought against participants in “unauthorised” demonstrations. Participants in peaceful assemblies should not be sanctioned for the mere fact of being present at and actively participating in the demonstration in question, provided they do not do anything illegal or violent in the course of it. There should be no disproportionate sanction undermining the fundamental right to peaceful assembly.

70. Based on the above, we call on the authorities to revise the law and practice with a view to ensuring the right to freedom of assembly and that any restrictions comply with Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

9. Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

71. In view of all of the above, we stress the utmost importance of ensuring full implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, which is a strict obligation on all Council of Europe member States. We highlight the Council of Europe’s readiness to help find solutions to the outstanding problems that impede the full execution of the Court judgments by the Azerbaijani authorities, and we support the Secretary General’s initiative under Article 52 of the Convention in this regard.

72. We met with Ilgar Mammadov several times in Prison 2 and we discussed his case with the authorities. In the framework of the supervision of the execution of the case Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan,63 at its December 2016 meeting, the Committee of Ministers firmly reiterated that the continuing arbitrary detention of Ilgar Mammadov constituted a flagrant breach of the obligations under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention and affirmed their determination to ensure the implementation of the judgment by actively considering using all the means at the disposal of the Organisation, including under Article 46, paragraph 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which was reiterated in the decision of 6-7 June 2017. The Committee of Ministers regretted that Mr Mammadov remained detained and urged the authorities to

62 http://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/azerbaijan-stop-reprisals-against-human-rights-defenders 63 Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan, application no. 15172/13, judgment of 22 May 2014

follow all other possible means capable of fully executing the judgment ensuring Mr Mammadov’s unconditional release without any further delay.

It should be pointed out that it is necessary to apply sanctions against Azerbaijan, depriving the right to vote of deputies from Azerbaijan. Only after this Ilgar Mammadov will be released.

73. Regarding the case of Rasul Jafarov v. Azerbaijan,64 we raised the issues of the payment of the just satisfaction awarded and of the reopening of the criminal proceedings. The applicant complained about the failure to pay the just satisfaction awarded as well as the rejection by decisions of the Supreme Court of his requests for the reopening of the criminal proceedings. In its decision of 6-7 June, the Committee of Ministers asked for information in writing on the payment of the just satisfaction and on the rejection of Rasul Jafarov’s request for the reopening of the criminal proceedings against him. In our meeting with the Supreme Court, we were surprised to hear from the Supreme Court that they had not received any request in this case. We also met with Rasul Jafarov who confirmed that two Supreme Court decisions were adopted respectively on 26 August 2016 and 27 January 2017 rejecting his requests for reopening. Concerning the payment of just satisfaction, Rasul Jafarov told us that he has so far only received 5 500 euros in three instalments (2 000 euros paid in April 2017, 2 000 euros paid in May 2017 and 1 500 euros paid in June 2017) out of a total amount of 32 448 euros due. We were informed by lawyers and civil society representatives of the existence of a number of other cases in which the Azerbaijani Government has not paid compensation as ordered by the European Court of Human Rights judgments.65

Also ECHR on June 2, 2016 has the decision “The case of Yunusova and Yunusov v. Azerbaijan”66 on the payment of compensation in the amount of 13.000 euros for each, total 26.000 euros. But even a year later, they received each for 3,000 euros, only 6,000 euros.

74. During our 2016 visits, we discussed the initiative related to the draft constitutional law, along the lines of the Russian Constitutional Court Law, presented to the parliament during the 2016 spring session. This draft law “on the possibility of the implementation by the Republic of Azerbaijan of the decision of the interstate body for the protection of human rights and freedoms” would reportedly give the Constitutional Court new powers in relation to the definition of the possibility of execution of decisions passed by international organisations on human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan. We were informed that the draft was the initiative of a single MP and that it needed 63 signatures in order to be put on the agenda. Such a proposal would also require a constitutional change with a qualified majority of 95 votes, and a delay of six

64 Rasul Jafarov s. Azerbaijan, application no. 69981/14, judgment of 17 March 2016.

65 Mr Asabali Mustafayev, a lawyer representing a number of applicants to the European Court of Human Rights, mentions 27 cases.

66 Case of Yunusova and Yunusov v. Azerbaijan (Application no. 59620/14). – https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/docx/pdf?library=ECHR&id=001- 163330&filename=CASE%20OF%20YUNUSOVA%20AND%20YUNUSOV%20v.%20AZERBAIJAN.pdf

months between the two readings. We expressed our concern regarding this initiative that would impede the unconditional implementation of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which is a binding obligation on all members of the Council of Europe. During our last visit in June 2017, we were reassured that the draft was not any longer pending in parliament.

10. Conclusion

75. We welcome the liberation of some of the so-called “political prisoners”/”prisoners of conscience” in 2016 and 2017, but we remain concerned about new arrests in recent months. We hope that more persons will be released in the months to come.

It is necessary to demand the release of all 145 innocent people, who still stay in prison, and not to apply with hope that a few more people will be released. The arrests continue! It is necessary to demand stop of repression. PACE should demand compliance with the law, rule of law and not ask the dictator pardon for innocent people!

76. The principle of the separation of powers is essential and it is important to develop the oversight function of the parliament over the executive in Azerbaijan.

77. We take note of the planned justice reform. We emphasise that he justice system needs to be truly independent, impartial and free from interference by the executive.

78. The criminal justice system must be transparent, accountable and respect the presumption of innocence as well as the principle of equality of arms. We welcome the ongoing reform initiated by the President of the Republic’s Executive Order on “improvement of operation of the prison system, humanisation of criminal policies and extension of application of alternative sanctions and non-custodial preventive measures” and we call on the authorities to quickly pursue its formal legislative adoption and implementation. We reiterate that judicial independence and impartiality is a prerequisite for a criminal justice system that is compliant with European standards. The issue of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan also needs to be considered in relation with the lack of independence of the judiciary. The arbitrary application of criminal legislation to limit freedom of expression raises serious concerns in particular on account of the reported use of different criminal laws against journalists and bloggers. We reiterate the Assembly’s call to speed up efforts towards the decriminalisation of defamation.

If there is no threat of sanctions. Azerbaijani authorities will ignore all appeals, calls

79. It is of utmost importance to establish an independent, transparent and effective complaints system for allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials so as to ensure that there is no impunity for misconduct or ill-treatment, which is of fundamental importance for the enhancement of public trust and confidence in the

criminal justice system. Conditions of detentions need to be improved in line with the CPT’s recommendations, which should be made public without delay.

On August 10, 2017 judge of Garadagh District Court Fuad Huseynov dismissed the complaint of lawyer Yalchin Imanov about tortures against Abbas Huseynov in Gobustan prison.

In September 2014 lawyer Alaif Hasanov apply to court about tortures against Leyla Yunusova in Baku Detention Centre No. 1. The lawyer was punished and expelled from the Bar Association.

80. There needs to be a true reform of the restrictive norms governing the operation and funding of NGOs and their implementation so as to allow for the functioning of a vivid civil society and ensure respect for freedom of association. Respect for political freedom and notably freedom of assembly is also at stake.

81. The implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and in particular those affecting persons in detention, including Ilgar Mammadov, is of the utmost importance.

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Strengthening Democracy in Uncertain Times
21st Forum 2000 Conference
Prague October 2017

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Briefing on November 22, 2017 in Brussels

“Eastern Partnership” is a political initiative to bring together the six former Soviet republics – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – with the European Union.

On the eve of the fifth Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels on November 24, 2017, in which the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev was to take part, Institute for Peace and Democracy, together with the Institute for Reporters Freedom and
Safety held on November 22 a 2-hour briefing in the building of Press Club in Brussels.
Theme of the briefing – “Rights Abuses in Azerbaijan: No End in Sight”

The representatives from the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, Human Rights Division in European External Action Service, journalists from Netherlands, Belgium, German, France, representatives from international human rights organizations and Azerbaijans, living in emigration took part in briefing.

 

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“Letters to political prisoners marathon” Amnesty International

 

On 9 December, Amnesty International  in Netherlands organized a “Marathon for writing letters to political prisoners” and letters demanding their release.

December 9, 2017 there are 161 political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the opening of the Marathon, we presented detailed information on political repressions in authoritarian Azerbaijan.

Our Institute for Peace and Democracy offered the names of 10 political prisoners to appeal to them. Here they are:

Gezel Bayramly, from May 2017	Abbas Huseynov 20 years from 2015	Fuad Gahramanly, 10 years from 2015	Ilkin Rustamzade, 8 years from 2015
Rashad Ramazanov 9 years from 2013	Seymur Hazi 5 years from 2014	Michael Idrisov, 12 years from 2017	Taleh Bagir-zade 20 years from 2015

 

Giyas Ibragimov, 10 years from 2016

Bayram Mamedov, 10 tears from 2016

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Contribution to the List of Issues Prior to the Submission of the Periodic Report of Azerbaijan

By

Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), World Organisation against Torture( OMCT)

 

1.     Introduction

Since the last review of Azerbaijan by the Committee against Torture (CAT), the political context and human rights situation have not improved in the country. The regime continues to rule based on a system of patronage and oppression, unfair elections, and a high level of corruption. Azerbaijan is moving towards a consolidated autocracy. The crackdown on civil society and free speech continues. Most CAT recommendations from the 2015 review have not been implemented, notably those relating to impunity for torture as well as those on arbitrary detention and harassment of human rights defenders, journalists and activists.

This report is submitted by the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT). It is based on information provided by organizations, lawyers and activists on the ground who wish   to remain anonymous for security reasons.

2.     Lack of Investigations and Convictions of Torture and Lack of Data

 The government does not make publicly available data on torture complaints and investigations. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Ombudsman) mentions in her latest annual report from 2016 that 691 complaints about human rights violations were received during the year, but none of those were torture cases.1 With regard to detention monitoring, the Ombudsman’s report does mention that such complaints were received, but does not specify whether those complaints concerned torture or other ill-­‐treatment. It further reports that “investigations were held” and “in case of necessity [the] Prosecutor General’s  Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and other corresponding bodies were sent motions for investigations” and the persons concerned “were informed about the  results of the investigations.”2 However, neither any specific cases, nor any numbers were presented in the report.

In contrast, human rights organisations, lawyers, and activists have documented dozens  of  torture cases since the last CAT review. Some of those cases are detailed below in chapter 3 (the Nardaran Case) and chapter 5 (Torture, Arbitrary Detention and Harassment of Human Rights Defenders, Activists, and Journalists). In none of these documented cases were there any meaningful investigations, let alone convictions.

Questions:

1. Please provide statistical data on the number of complaints of alleged torture and ill-­‐ treatment, the investigations into such complaints and subsequent prosecution and results of the proceedings, including both penal punishment and disciplinary
2. Please provide information on whether any official was charged and convicted under Article 293 of the Criminal
3. Please provide data on cases in which law enforcement or prison officials have faced disciplinary or criminal penalties for violations of detainees’

 

1 The Commissioner for Human Rights, Summary of the Annaul Report on the Activities in Promotion and Protection of Human Rights for 2016, pp. 12–13, available online at: http://www.ombudsman.gov.az/en/view/pages/59/.

2 Ibid, p. 14.

 

3.     The “Nardaran Case” and Conditions in the Gobustan Prison

In June 2002, police conducted an operation against followers of Islam and residents of Nardaran, northeast of Baku that left 28 people injured and one person dead. A total of 23 people were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment on what were widely considered fabricated charges of espionage in favour of Iran, as well as attempted violent change of power. As a result of human rights advocacy, all convicts were released by 2005.3

In 2015, the Muslim Unity Movement was formed in the Nardaran village. Its members, who describe themselves as non-­‐violent and conservative Shiites, advocate for increased influence of Islam in Azerbaijan. The leader of the Muslim Unity Movement has criticized the authoritarian government  and  corruption.  In  November  2015  the  police  carried  out  another  security  operation in Nardaran. Armed with  automatic  weapons,  the  police  entered  the  village  and opened heavy fire. As a result, six people were killed,  including  two  police  officers.  The authorities claimed that the Muslim Union was planning  an  armed  rebellion  to  install  a  sharia state in Azerbaijan. In the course of the following months, dozens of religious activists and Nardaran residents were arrested. The defendants in the so-­‐called Nardaran case were charged with a range of serious crimes such as murder, terrorism, organizing riots, illegal possession of weapons, calling for the violent seizure of power and inciting religious hatred. While most arrestees complained of torture and other forms of ill-­‐treatment, two cases are particularly well documented and thus described in more detail below.4

Taleh Bagirzade, head of the opposition Muslim Unity Movement and outspoken critic of the government, was arrested together with a group of other Nardaran residents with alleged ties to the  Muslim  Union  during  the  special  security  operation  carried  out  in  the  night  of  25-­‐26 November 2015. Bagirzade was convicted by the Baku Court for Serious Crimes on 25 January 2017 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for publicly calling for the overthrow of the  government and for inciting ethnic, religious, and social hatred.5 At the same trial, 18 other activists  were  given  prison  sentences  of  10-­‐20  years  in  prison.6  According  to  information provided by Bagirzade’s lawyer, his client was tortured in connection with his arrest and in custody. During his arrest, Bagirzade was allegedly hit in his face, his head was smashed to the ground, and police verbally abused him. He was subsequently taken to the offices of the Main Organised Crime Department in Baku where he was forced to lay on the ground  and was severely beaten, resulting in open wounds and the loss of blood. During his continued detention on the premises of the Organised Crime Department, Bagirzade was allegedly repeatedly  tortured and pressured to confess and testify against those arrested together with him. Among others, he allegedly regularly had his head covered with a sack, while a police officer sat on his shoulder and others hit his legs until they swell to an unrecognizable shape. On 29 December 2015, Bagirzade was finally allowed to see his lawyer, who immediately filed a torture  complaint. No investigation was, however, opened into these allegations and the dates for hearings in Bagirzade’s case were repeatedly postponed until the wounds on his body had

3 See e.g. The Central Asia-­‐Caucasus Analyst, ‘Azerbaijan, Islamism, and unrest in Nardaran’, 27 December 2015,   available   online   at:   https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-­‐articles/item/13316-­‐ azerbaijan-­‐islamism-­‐and-­‐unrest-­‐in-­‐nardaran.html.

4 Radio Free Europe, ‘Suspected Shi’ite Insurgent Group on Trial in Azerbaijan’, 14 August 2016, available online       at:        https://www.rferl.org/a/caucasus-­‐report-­‐azerbaijan-­‐shiite-­‐trial-­‐link-­‐extremism-­‐to-­‐ opposition/27920594.html.

5 Radio Free Europe, ‘Azerbaijan Opposition Leaders, Activists Sentenced in Baku’, 25 January 2017,

available online at: https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-­‐bagirzade-­‐huseynov-­‐sentenced-­‐20-­‐ years/28259206.html.

6    RFE/RL,    ‘Azerbaijani    Opposition    Leaders,    Activists    Sentenced    In    Baku’,    25    January    2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-­‐ bagirzade-­‐huseynov-­‐sentenced-­‐20-­‐years/28259206.html.

healed. Bagirzade withdrew his complaint on 23 February 2016 because of repeated threats and ill-­‐treatment.7 He is currently serving his sentence in the Gobustan prison where he reported of having been beaten by an officer in January 2018.8

 

Abbas Huseynov, another defendant in the Nardaran case, was arrested at the same time as  Taleh Bagirzade in November 2015 and was first held in the Baku Investigative Isolator No. 1. In July 2017, he was transferred to the Gobustan prison after the Baku Court of Appeal upheld his conviction to 20 years in prison, seven years of which to be spent in the Gobustan closed prison. He was sentenced for publicly calling for the overthrow of the government and of inciting ethnic, religious, and social hatred. His lawyer was able to meet with Huseynov on 8 August 2017 at which occasion Huseynov reported being tortured and held in inhuman prison conditions in the Gobustan prison. Huseynov said that, upon arrival in the prison, he was handcuffed, dragged along the floor and kept in the scorching sun. When he complained, he was beaten with a truncheon and placed in a punishment cell, which was filthy and unsanitary with vermin coming from the toilet and bed sheets that were black from dirt. Huseynov further reported having allegedly been beaten in the stomach and face by a prison officer, being tied to an iron post for three hours in the sun, and repeatedly placed in the punishment cell. When he complained about the prison conditions to the prison director, this official allegedly replied that “this is Gobustan, a place where rights end.” Huseynov was then allegedly pushed down on the floor and beaten on his head with a club. After this incident, Huseynov was again brought to the punishment cell where he was handcuffed. According to his lawyer, Huseynov had injuries on his back, legs and knees and had difficulties walking and sitting as a result of this incident.9 A complaint to the Garadagh District Court under Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights filed by Huseynov’s lawyer was dismissed on 14 August 2017.10

As mentioned above, Bagirzade and Huseyno vare held in  the  Gobustan  prison  and  so  are  several other defendants in the Nardaran case. This prison, in which detainees who serve life imprisonment or long-­‐term imprisonment are held, is known for its strict regime: detainees are kept in their cells all day, do not have the possibility  of  yard  exercise,  work  or  study  and  meetings with relatives are rare.11 In  January  2018,  the  lawyer  representing  Safa  Poladov  and  Arif Kazimov (both considered  political  prisoners  who  have  been  arrested  in  connection  with  the 2003 presidential elections),  both  detained  in  Gobustan  reported  that  they  are  forced  to  sleep on iron beds, and that they are repeatedly kept in a punishment cell.12 The Council of Europe that visited the Gobustan prison in a fact-­‐finding mission to Azerbaijan in October 2017 reported that the conditions are unacceptable. The Council of Europe expressed serious concerns   about   reports   of   ill-­‐treatment   and   torture   and   particularly   referred   to   Abbas

7 Wolrd Organisation against Torture, ‘Azerbaijan: Severe Torture and Unfair Trials of Members of the Nardaran    Community’,    22    December    2016,    available    online    at:    http://www.omct.org/urgent-­‐ interventions/azerbaijan/2016/12/d24685/.

8 Radio Free Europe, ‘Taleh Bağırov Qobustan həbsxanasında döyüldüyünü bildirir’, 1 January 2018, available online at: https://www.azadliq.org/a/28949806.html (available only in Azeri).

9 For more information on the case see Institute for Peace and Democracy, ‘The court rejected the complaint         of         Abbas   Huseynov         about                         torture’,  available       at: https://www.ipd-az.org/the-court-rejected-the-complaint-of-abbas-huseynov-about-torture/

• Institute for Peace and Democracy, ‘The court rejected the complaint of Abbas Huseynov about torture’, available online at: https://www.ipd-az.org/the-court-rejected-the-complaint-of-abbas-huseynov-about-torture/
• There are reports about 40 prisoners who died in Gobustan between 1999 and

12 Contact, ‘Two political prisoners subjected to inhuman treatment – lawyer’, 15 January 2018, available online at: http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2018/1/free/Social/en/68256.htm.

Huseynov. According to the Council of Europe report, prison authorities confirmed the use of force against Huseynov in the framework of disciplinary measures.13

Questions:

1. Please provide information on investigations into torture allegations by individuals who have been charged and/or convicted in the Nardaran
2. Please  provide   information   about   the   treatment,   health   and   well-­‐being   of   Abbas Huseynov and Taleh Bagirzade in
3. Please report on allegations of use of force and torture in the Gobustan

 

4.     Arrests and Killings on Front Lines

Shortly before Azerbaijan’s independence in 1991, the country was drawn into a bloody conflict with  Armenia  over  the  Nagorno-­‐Karabakh  territory,  which  is  mostly  occupied  by  Armenians who wanted to create a separate state. The tensions started in 1988 and had grown into a full scale-­‐war in 1990. This conflict was an important factor for the consolidation of power of the Aliyev family in Azerbaijan. President Heydar Aliyev came to power in 1993 and was able to secure a ceasefire in the Nagorno-­‐Karabakh territory and relative stability a year later. Heydar Aliyev served two consecutive presidential terms until his death in 2003 when his son and  current president Ilham Aliyev assumed power. The Azerbaijani government often exploits this conflict to justify repressive policies. For instance, charges of espionage for Armenia are used against civil society activists and human rights defenders to discredit them, such as in the case of Leyla and Arif Yunus.

Since 2008 there have been several clashes between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-­‐Karabakh, resulting in the death of civilians. In addition, there have also been waves of arrests of civilians residing in the region. Starting on 7 May 2017, there was such  a wave of arrests directed towards soldiers and civilians. Media reported that 47 people were arrested for espionage for Armenia.14 On 16 May 2017, information emerged about the alleged death due to torture of six arrested individuals.15

Mehman Telman oglu Huseynov, born in 1987, was arrested on 7 May in his house in Jamilli. On 16 May his dead body was brought to his wife. The family was not allowed to bury him in the cemetery as he was “an enemy and a traitor”. Huseynov was buried outside a cemetery in  Agkand village without any service.

Sahavat Binnatov was arrested on 7 May in his house in the village Jamilli. On 17 May his tortured body was returned to the family, who was not allowed to bury him  in the cemetery of  his village.

Colonel Saleh Charif oglu Gafarov was arrested in his apartment in the village Kutkashen in  the Gabala district. On 14 May his body was brought to his village. The members of his family

 

13  Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, ‘The functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan’,   10 October 2017, Doc. 14403 Add, para. 16, available online at: https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1421094/1830_1507807664_2017-­‐10-­‐10-­‐the-­‐functioning-­‐of-­‐ democratic-­‐institutions-­‐in-­‐azerbaijan-­‐doc-­‐14403-­‐add.pdf.

14 Contact, ‘The Prosecutor’s Office issued a warnign to the editor of the opposition website’, 23 May 2017, available online at: http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/5/free/Social/en/62537.htm.

15 Institute for Peace and Development, ‘Law Enforcement Agencies Of Azerbaijan sanction murders’, 24 May 2017, available online at: https://www.ipd-az.org/law-enforcement-agencies-of-azerbaijan-sanction-murders/

were not allowed to see the face of the deceased. He was buried in a cemetery where his grave was guarded to prevent his relatives from seeing Gafarov’s body.

Elchin Guliyev was arrested on 10 or 11 May. His dead body too was returned to the family on 18 May and his family was told that he was spying for Armenia.

Leutnant Tamkin Nizamioglu was arrested on 12 May. His body was returned to his native village of Darkand in Ordubad region (Nakchivan) in a sealed coffin. His family was neither allowed to see his body nor to bury him.

Dayndur Nuru oglu Azizli, a soldier drafted to the army in 2016, was arrested on 12 May 2017 in the Terter region. On 20 July police brought the coffin containing Azizli’s body to his parents. Relatives managed to open the coffin; Azizli’s face was severely mutilated.

 

Questions:

1. Please report on any investigations undertaken into the deaths of Mehman Telman oglu Huseynov, Sahavat Binnatov, Colonel Saleh Charif oglu Gafarov, Elhcin Guliyev, Leutnant Tamkin Nizamioglu, and Dayndur Nuru oglu
2. Please update the Committee on whether the investigations have identified those who allegedly killed or acquiesced in the killings of Mehman Telman oglu Huseynov, Sahavat Binnatov, Colonel Saleh Charif oglu Gafarov, Elhcin Guliyev, Leutnant Tamkin Nizamioglu and and Dayndur Nuru oglu Azizli and whether these individuals have been brought to justice.

 

5.     Torture, Arbitrary Detention and Harassment of Human Rights Defenders, Activists and Journalists 

While several arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and activists were released in 2015   and 2016, most of their convictions still stand and some face travel restrictions. Those released  on suspended sentences risk being sent back to prison in case they are found to have violated    the terms of their release. In addition, there have been new arrests and convictions in 2017. The authorities   have   continued   to   use   fabricated,  tax-­‐related,  and   other   politically   motivated criminal charges to detain critical voices. According to recent reports, there are currently at least 150 such detainees in Azerbaijan.16 The exact number fluctuates given occasional releases and new arrests. The list contains the names of journalists, bloggers, editors, religious activists, political activists and human rights defenders who have been deprived of their liberty on politically motivated grounds. Below, a few selected cases of individuals who have been prosecuted, imprisoned, and tortured for exercising fundamental rights.

Afgan Mukhtarli is an Azerbaijani journalist and political dissident who wrote about social and political issues including corruption and the crackdown on human rights organisations for local and international media outlets. Following years of harassment against him and his family, Mukhtarli and his wife Leyla Mustafayeva, also a journalist, left Azerbaijan and fled to Georgia in January 2015, where he continued to write about events in Azerbaijan. On 29 May 2017, Afgan Mukhtarli was abducted in Tbilisi, on his way home from a café, and was handed over to the Azerbaijani  authorities  near  the  Georgia-­‐Azerbaijan  border  with  EUR  10,000  worth  of  cash allegedly planted in his pocket. Shortly before his abduction, he wrote an article for Meydan TV addressing the issue of abductions and kidnappings of government critics. He was further in the Institute for Peace and Development, ‘СПИСОК ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ ЗАКЛЮЧЕННЫХ Центра защиты политзаключенных на 10 декабря 2017 года 161 человек’, available online at: https://www.ipd-az.org/ru/list-of-political-prisoners-for-10-december-2017/ (available in Russian only). process of writing an article about the financial investments of the family of President Aliyev. After his abduction, he was held in pre-­‐trial detention until 12 January 2018 when a regional court sentenced him to six years in prison on charges of illegal border crossing, smuggling and violently resisting a law enforcement official.

Afghan Sagidov, founder and editor of the regional news site Azel.tv was arrested in November 2016 and charged with attacking a woman, allegations he claims are false and politically motivated. Sagidov frequently reported about corruption of local authorities. In January 2017 he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison which was later reduced to one and a half year. Trial observers criticized Sagidov’s court proceedings since all witnesses were employees of the local administration and requests to review CCTV footage was denied.18 Sagidov has continued to write critical articles while in detention. An article entitled “Down with the 1937 of the 21st Century, Down with…” was published in September 2017. Shortly after, he was allegedly tortured and put in solitary confinement.19

On 9 January 2017, a group of plainclothes officers attacked well-­‐known blogger and journalist Mehman  Huseynov, blindfolded and gagged him  with towels, forced a bag over his head and    took him to the Nasimi district police station, where police used an electroshock weapon on his  groin, and punched him, bloodying his nose. The next day, police officers brought him to court, where he was found guilty of disobeying police orders  and  fined  him  200  manat  (about  100  EUR). Huseynov went public about the abuses he suffered at the police station  and  filed  a  complaint with the prosecutor’s office. The authorities formally opened an inquiry  into  his allegations but swiftly closed it, claiming the allegations  were  groundless.  On  27  April,  an  appeals court upheld the prosecutor’s decision to  shut  down  the  investigation.  While  the authorities failed to conduct a credible investigation into Huseynov’s torture allegations, he was instead charged with defamation, a criminal offense on the basis of a complaint from the Nasimi police chief. After only two hearings, a Baku court found Huseynov guilty and sentenced him  to   two years in prison on 3 March 2017. At the beginning of November, a new  appeal trial began in   his case after the Supreme Court sent the case back for reconsideration. Huseynov is also editor of the popular socio-­‐political online magazine Sancaq and an active commentator on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. His most recent project prior to his arrest was documenting corruption among  high-­‐level  officials  in  Azerbaijan  and  exposing  their  wealth  through  a  series  of  video materials he shared on his YouTube channel.

Rashad  Ramazanov,  a  religious  follower  and  a  blogger,  was  sentenced  to  nine  years  in  prison   by the Baku Court of Serious Crimes for alleged drug possession on 13 November 2013. He used to  write  on  religion  and  justice,  and  published  on  micro-­‐blogs  and  social  media,  particularly Facebook  where  he  criticised  high-­‐ranking  Azerbaijani  officials,  including  the  president.  His lawyer stated that  Ramazanov  was  subjected  to  torture  in  custody.  Appeals  by  the  lawyer  to  relevant agencies demanding an investigation into these allegations yielded no results. Instead, his lawyer was himself detained and warned to stop making statements about torture and ill-­‐ treatment  of  his  defendant  and  was  subsequently  dismissed  from  the  Bar   of   Lawyers.   Ramazanov has been recognised as a political prisoner.

17 IPHR, ‘A high price for speaking out: Azerbaijani journalist sentenced to six years in prison on trumped-­‐ up charges’, 12 January 2017, available online at: http://iphronline.org/high-­‐price-­‐speaking-­‐azerbaijani-­‐ journalist-­‐sentenced-­‐six-­‐years-­‐prison-­‐trumped-­‐charges.html. See more about this case in IPHR, ‘Mission report. Repression beyond Borders: Exiled Azerbaijanis in Georgia’, available online at: http://iphronline.org/wp-­‐content/uploads/2017/09/Repression-­‐beyond-­‐borders.pdf.

18 OC Media, ‘New charges against jailed Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Sadigov’, 15 January 2018, available online at: http://oc-­‐media.org/new-­‐charges-­‐against-­‐jailed-­‐azerbaijani-­‐journalist-­‐afgan-­‐sadigov/.

19 IRFS, ‘Journalist Placed in Solitary Confinement’, 26 September 2017, available online at: https://www.irfs.org/news-­‐feed/journalist-­‐placed-­‐in-­‐solitary-­‐confinement/.

On 25 November 2016, Ikram Rahimov, editor in chief of the online news site realliq.info, was sentenced to one year in prison after reporting on bribery and tax evasion by local authorities. Rahimov alleged having been tortured when arbitrarily held in detention at the Sumgayit City Police Department for three days. Police allegedly put a cellophane bag over his head until he could no longer breathe and transmitted his ill-­‐treatment via live video chat to the person whom Rahimov had reported as being involved in bribery. Police also demanded that Rahimov apologize to the person concerned.20 Rahimov was released in March 2017. No investigation has been carried out into his torture allegations.

In May 2016, Giyas Ibrahimov and Bayram Mammadov from the N!DA Youth Movement were arrested after Mammadov posted a photo on Facebook of a graffiti message they had sprayed on  a statue of Heydar Aliyev, the late former president of Azerbaijan and the father of the current president. They were arrested on spurious drug charges and sentenced to  ten  years imprisonment, in October and December 2016, respectively.21 They were allegedly tortured repeatedly in police custody. Ibrahimov’s lawyer sent a torture complaint to the General’s Prosecutor’s Office in July 2017 but no investigation has been carried out to date. Also the Ombudsman’s Office asserted that it will investigate the case but has not undertaken any  action.22

Ilgar Mammadov, opposition figure and one of the leaders of the Republican Alternative  Movement  (REAL),  was  sentenced  to  seven  years  in  prison  in  February  2013  on  trumped-­‐up charges of “inciting violence” after monitoring and reporting on anti-­‐government protests in the town of Ismayilli. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in 2014 that Mammadov  was detained without any evidence and for the purpose of silencing and  punishing  him  for  criticising the government. Despite this judgment of the ECtHR and nearly a dozen resolutions    from the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe calling for Mammadov’s release in follow-­‐up  to  it, the  Azerbaijani  government  has  to  date  failed  to  implement  the  ruling  to  free Mammadov.23 Therefore, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided in October 2017 to take unprecedented action and return the case to the Court, the so-­‐called infringement procedure. 24 In November 2017, the ECtHR issued a second ruling on  Mammadov’  case, concluding that he was denied a fair trial, in response to a separate complaint filed by the

 

20 IRFS,  ‚Journalist  and  Citizen  Whose  Problems  He  Publicized  Convicted  on  Defamation  Charges’,  30 November   2016,   available   online   at:   https://www.irfs.org/newsfeed/journalist-­‐and-­‐citizen-­‐whose-­‐ problems-­‐he-­‐publicised-­‐convicted-­‐on-­‐defamation-­‐charges/.

21 OMCT, ‘Azerbaijan: Joint Statement: Stop Crackdown on Freedom of Expression’, 6 December 2016, available       online   at:                                 http://www.omct.org/monitoring-­‐protection-­‐ mechanisms/urgentinterventions/azerbaijan/2016/12/d24087/;     Human     Rights     Watch,     ‘10-­‐Year Sentence for Political Graffiti in Azerbaijan’, 8 December 2016, available online at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/08/10-­‐year-­‐sentence-­‐political-­‐graffiti-­‐azerbaijan.

22 Basta Info, ‘Qiyas İbrahimovun vəkili baş prokurora müraciət etdi’, 10 July 2017, available online at: http://bastainfo.com/az/2017/07/10/qiyas-­‐ibrahimovun-­‐v%C9%99kili-­‐bas-­‐prokurora-­‐ muraci%C9%99t-­‐etdi/ (only available in Azeri).

23 For more information see the joint applea by 44 NGOs: IPHR, ‘Azerbaijan: Time for Justice for Ilgar Mammadov’,   22   May   2017,   available   online   at:   http://iphronline.org/azerbaijan-­‐time-­‐justice-­‐ilgar-­‐ mammadov.html.

24 Article 46 (4) of the European Convention on Human Rights: « If the Committee of Ministers considers that a High Contracting Party refuses to abide by a final judgment in a case to which it is a party, it may, after serving formal notice on that Party and by decision adopted by a majority vote of two-­‐thirds of the representatives entitled to sit on the committee, refer to the Court the question whether that Party has   failed to fulfil its obligation under paragraph1.”

activist.25

 

Ilkin Rustamzada, a youth activist, was subjected to pressure by authorities after using Facebook to mobilize participants for several well-­‐attended, peaceful rallies that were held in downtown Baku in early 2013 under the slogan “No more soldier deaths”. The purpose of these rallies was to protest against hazing and non-­‐ combatant deaths in the army. Ilkin Rustamzada was first sentenced to administrative detention for being involved in protests that had not been sanctioned by authorities. However, there was more to come: in May 2013, he was arrested on criminal charges of organizing mass riots and hooliganism and  a  year  later,  he  was  convicted along with seven other youth activists and sentenced to eight years in prison. While  the  other activists with whom Ilkin Rustamzada was on trial have all been released  by  now, he  remains  behind bars. Human rights defenders believe that he was imprisoned in retaliation for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.26

 

Seymur Hazi is a reporter for the opposition newspaper Azadliq, a leading anchor for the critical satellite “Azerbaijan Saati” (Azerbaijani Hour) TV program and a senior politician with the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan. He was sentenced to five years in prison on 29 January 2015 on trumped-­‐up charges of hooliganism for allegedly attacking a man at a bus stop. 27 He is recognised as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and several other  human rights organisations. He is also on the list of political prisoners compiled by the Azerbaijani civil society working group that is documenting cases of political prisoner in Azerbaijan.

 

Elchin Ismayilli, an independent journalist, was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of extortion and abuse of power on 18 September 2017. He was arrested on these charges in mid-­‐ February 2017 and had been held in pre-­‐trial detention since then. The charges against him are considered politically motivated.28

Aziz  Orujov  (Qarasoglu), the Baku manager of the Germany-­‐based online TV station Channel 13 and founder of the NGO “Media investigations of the Caucasus”, was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment on 15 December 2017 for illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of office.29 His convictions are considered to be politically motivated and linked to his work.30 In May 2017, Orujov was sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention for allegedly resisting the lawful orders of police. When his detention came to an end, he was presented with the criminal charges and remanded to pre-­‐trial detention.31

On 28 April 2017, blogger Mehman Galandarov was found dead in Baku Detention Centre No.

25 ECtHR, ‘Serious shortcomings in the criminal proceedings against Azerbaijani opposition politician, Ilgar Mammadov’, Press Release, 16 November 2017, available online at: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-­‐ press?i=003-­‐5916921-­‐7553809.

26  See  more  in  IPHR,  ‘Azerbaijan:  #FreeIlkin!’,  December  2016,  at:  http://iphronline.org/azerbaijan-­‐ freeilkin-­‐campaign.html.

27 Council of Europe, ‘Journalist Seymour Hazi Sentenced on Hooliganism Charges’, 15 April 2016, available online at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-­‐freedom/all-­‐alerts/-­‐/soj/alert/12102831.

28 For more information see, Institute for Peace and Development, ‘Sheki Grave Crimes Court pronounced verdict for Elchin Ismayilli’, 18 September 2017, available online at: http://ipdthinktank.org/elchin_ismayilly_eng.html.

29 Contact, ‘Director of “Channel 13” sentenced to 6 years’, 15 December 2017, available online at: http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/12/free/Social/en/67608.htm.

30 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), ‘Azerbaijani Journalist Goes On Trial’, 27 September 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-­‐tv-­‐journalist-­‐orucov-­‐qarasoglu-­‐trial/28760232.html?ltflags=mailer

31 Meydan TV, ‘Appeal of Imprisoned Azerbaijani Journalist Dismissed’, 29 June 2017, https://www.meydan.tv/en/site/politics/23844/.

1, where he had been held since being arrested on 7 February 2017 on suspicious  drug  trafficking charges. Prison authorities claimed that he had committed suicide by  hanging  himself, but reportedly refused to hand over his body to his family and secretly buried him without witnesses next to his parent’s grave. A teacher of philosophy, sociology and political science, Galandarov was known for his Facebook posts critical of the government. On the day of his arrest, he had published a post in support of Giyas Ibrahimov, a political prisoner. Shortly before his arrest, he had also been involved in organizing a peaceful protest in Tbilisi against the controversial constitutional amendments adopted in Azerbaijan  in  2016.32  Complaints  have been submitted to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Ombudsman Office, but to our knowledge, no investigation into the circumstances of Galandarov’s death in custody has been carried out.33

 

Asif Yusifli and Fuad Gahramanli, both members of the EITI NGO Coalition that works  to  promote transparency in extractive industries, were arrested on 25 November 2014 and 8 December  2015,  respectively.  Yusifli,  also  a  high-­‐ranking  member  of  Azerbaijan’s  opposition Popular Front Party, was later convicted on spurious charges of fraud and forgery and is presently  serving  a  six-­‐year  prison  sentence.  Gahramanli,  deputy  chair  of  the  Popular  Front Party, was charged with inciting religious hatred because of comments he posted on Facebook. On  25  January  2017,  he  received  a  10-­‐year  prison  sentence.  The  cases  against  both  men  are widely believed to be politically motivated and aimed at obstructing their political opposition activities.34

A number of individuals facing politically motivated persecution remain subject to travel bans in connection with ongoing investigations or suspended sentences handed down in their cases.

Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist was arrested on 5 December 2014 and sentenced   to   seven   and   a   half   years   in   prison   on   trumped-­‐up   charges   of   tax   evasion, embezzlement, illegal business activity and abuse of power in September 2015. She was released from prison in May 2016 by the country’s Supreme Court as her initial sentence was replaced by a three and a half-­‐year suspended prison sentence. She is subject to a five-­‐year travel ban.35

Intigam Aliev, a human rights lawyer, was arrested in August 2014 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on charges of tax avoidance, illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of power

32 Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), ‘Authorities Claim that Arrested Blogger Mehman Galandarov    Commits    Suicide’    29    April    2017,    available    online    at:    https://www.irfs.org/news-­‐ feed/authorities-­‐claim-­‐that-­‐arrested-­‐blogger-­‐mehman-­‐galandarov-­‐ commits-­‐suicide/.

33 Meydan TV, ‘Death in Prison of Azerbaijani Blogger Highly Suspicious, Activists Say’, 30 April 2017, available   online   at:   https://www.meydan.tv/en/site/news/22657/;   Parliamentary   Assembly   of   the Council of Europe, ‘Rapporteur calls for an inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Mehman Galandarov’,   5   May   2017,   available   online   at:   http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-­‐View-­‐ EN.asp?newsid=6633&lang=2&cat=5; Azadliq, ‘Gürcüstan işi: təqiblər, həbslər və mövcud reallıqlar – hesabatın                      tam             mətni,         17        October 2017,    available                       online      at: https://storage.googleapis.com/qurium/azadliq.info/204542.html (available in Azeri only).

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, ‘Rhəbslər və mövcud reallıqlar – hesabatın tam mətni’, Azadliq, ‘Gürcüstan işi: təqiblər, həbslər və mövcud reallıqlar – hesabatın tam mətni’, 17 October 2017, available online at: https://storage.googleapis.com/qurium/azadliq.info/204542.html (available in Azeri only)

34 OMCT, ‘Azerbaijan: Joint Letter to the Members of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Board on the Working Conditions of Civil Society in Azerbaijan’, 20 October 2016, available online at: http://www.omct.org/human-­‐rights-­‐defenders/urgent-­‐ interventions/azerbaijan/2016/10/d24009/.

35 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘UN experts urge Azerbaijan to end travel  ban  on  award-­‐winning  investigative  journalist  Khadija  Ismayilova’,  5  December  2017,  available online at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22486&LangID=E.

in April 2015. He was pardoned along with several other high-­‐profile political prisoners in April 2016; however, the charges against him were not overturned and he is facing a travel ban.36

 

Faig Amirli, the financial director of the opposition Azadliq newspaper was released from prison after a court replaced his prison term with a suspended sentence of home arrest in September 2017. However, he is subject to a travel ban. Amirli was sentenced to three years and three months in prison in July 2017 on charges of inciting religious hatred and violating the rights of citizens under the pretext of conducting religious rites. He was arrested in August 2016, based on claims that he possessed books by US-­‐based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has been accused of masterminding the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.37

Four other journalists working with the Berlin-­‐based dissident Meydan TV are facing travel bans as a result of their work with this media outlet. These include: Aynur Elgunes, Aytac Ahmadova, Sevinc Vagifgizi, and Natig Javadli. Elgunes’s appeal to lift his travel ban was recently rejected by a court in Baku. A criminal investigation was launched against Meydan TV in April 2016 on charges of alleged illegal business, large-­‐scale tax evasion and abuse of power and is still under way.

 

Questions:

1. Please provide information on measures taken to ensure that human rights defenders, civil society and political activists, and journalists are able to conduct their work without fear of intimidation or
2. Please describe steps taken to investigate and address allegations of torture, arbitrary detention, harassment, intimidation, threats, attacks and killings of human rights defenders, activists, government critics, and journalist in particular with regards to the abovementioned

 

6. Torture and Arbitrary Detention of LGBTI People

In September 2017, lawyers and NGOs reported that authorities began a crackdown on the LGBT community of Baku. According to most recent official reports, 46 people were sentenced to administrative detention and 11 to administrative fines for resisting police orders. Other sources report of more than 250 people who have been fined. Many more were arrested and later released on bail or without charges. According to one of the lawyers IPHR spoke to, there were at least 150 people rounded up.

Eskhan Zakhidov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior told the APA news agency: “These raids are not targeted against all sexual minorities. Those arrested are people who have demonstratively showed lack of respect for those around them [or] annoyed citizens with their behaviour, and also those whom police or health authorities believe carry infectious diseases.”38 No clarification was provided as to what is considered to constitute behaviour that amount to  lack of respect for others or annoys fellow citizens in this context.

36 Meydan TV, ‘What does it Mean to Be on the Azerbaijani Government’s Bad Side?’, 7 March 2017, available online at: https://www.meydan.tv/en/site/society/21654.

37 IRFS,  ‘Faig  Amirli’s  trial  continued’,  19  June  2017,  available  online  at:  https://www.irfs.org/news-­‐ feed/faig-­‐amirlis-­‐trial-­‐continued/.  For  an  analysis  of  Faig  Amirli’s  trial  see  Institute  for  Peace  and Democracy, ‘The Sabayil District Court issued a verdict against Faig Amirov’, available online at: https://www.ipd-az.org/the-sabayil-district-court-issued-a-verdict-against-faig-amirov

38 The Guardian, ‘Outcry as Azerbaijan police launch crackdown on LGBT community’, 28 September 2017,     available     online     at:     https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/azerbaijan-­‐police-­‐ crackdown-­‐lgbt-­‐community.

Some of the arrested individuals reported about torture and  other  cruel,  inhuman,  and degrading treatment while in police detention. This included beating and use of electro shocks.   In addition, several individuals had their heads shaved.

Azerbaijan, where homosexuality is a taboo, is well-­‐known for its discriminatory treatment of LGBTI people. ILGA-­‐Europe’s Rainbow Index has ranked Azerbaijan the worst place in Europe to be gay.39

Questions:

1. Please provide comments on the above-­‐mentioned information and provide data on the number of LGBTI people arrested, tried and
2. Please provide information on measures taken to ensure the safety, integrity, and liberty of LGBTI
3. Please describe steps taken to investigate and address allegations that numerous LGBTI people have  been  subject  to  torture  and  other  ill-­‐treatment,  arrest  and  arbitrary

 

7. Legal Restrictions of Civil Society Organisations

Non-­‐governmental  organisations  in  Azerbaijan  face  serious  obstacles  to  operating  due  to excessively restrictive legislation currently in place, in particular with respect to access to funding. NGO grantees and their donors are required to separately obtain government approval for every grant, while the government has used broad discretion to deny approval. Independent NGOs have been subjected to lengthy investigations for alleged violations and their leaders have been charged, arrested and imprisoned on trumped-­‐up charges. This has seriously undermined the work of independent NGOs and currently there are hardly any human rights NGOs left in the country.40

Although the government simplified the registration procedure by amending the Rules of Registration of Grant Agreements in January 2017, the broad discretion of the authorities to arbitrarily deny funding approval remains.

In October 2017, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on Azerbaijan  voicing  concern  about  the  “legislative  environment  for  the  operation  of  non-­‐ governmental,  non-­‐commercial  organisations,  including  the  regulation  of  matters  relating  to their State registration, funding and reporting requirements.” The Resolution further  states  that “based on existing legislation and practice, a number  of  local  and  international  human  rights  NGOs have been prevented from operating, put under pressure and sometimes placed under investigation. Some of the arrests, detentions and convictions of  Azerbaijani  human  rights defenders appear to be the result of shortcomings in the NGO legislation and how it is implemented.”41

The Civil Society Platform has evaluated the amendments of the Rules of Grant Agreements in January 2017 and noted that the following restrictions are still in place: (1) Rules requiring the

 

39 ILGA-­‐Europe, ‘The Rainbow Index’, available online at https://rainbow-­‐europe.org/#0/0/0.

40 For more information see e.g. IPHR, ‘Submission for the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of

Azerbaijan’, October 2017, available online at: http://iphronline.org/wp-­‐ content/uploads/2017/10/Azerbaijan-­‐UPR-­‐submission-­‐full-­‐Oct-­‐2017.pdf.

41 Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assemlby, ‘The functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan’,

11      October      2017,      Resolution      2184      (2017),      para.      13,      available      online      at: http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-­‐DocDetails-­‐ EN.asp?FileID=24188&lang=EN%20and%20http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-­‐XML2HTML-­‐ EN.asp?fileid=24196&lang=en.

registration of grants and donations; (2) Requirement of the original, and not a copy, of grant agreements and additional ones; (3) Mandatory submission, in addition to the grant agreement,   of the signed original of a grant project (sometimes it can be more than 100 pages) for registration; (4) Notification of the registration of grants and donations; (5) Notification for conducting banking operations with grants and donations; (6) Compulsory transfer of grants or donations of more than 200 manat through banks; (7) Separate registration of a sub-­‐grant, if it is provided by the grant agreement; (8) Registration of donors in the country as residents (registration of offices); (9) Donors sign an agreement with the government on the registration   in the country; (10) Donors, whose charters proclaim charity as the main purpose, or implementing programs, which may be the subject of grants, may only be registered as donors;

• Donors are registered separately for the award of grants; (12) Donors  are  separately   registered for each grant declaration; (13) To  issue  grants,  donors  each  time  receive  approval  from the Ministry of Finance on the feasibility of the project; (14) Registration of a grant by the grantee; (15) Re-­‐registration of grant agreements, contracts and other sub-­‐grants each time in case of change in the sum, the terms, or the objectives of the grants; (16) Legal responsibility for banking and other operations on unregistered grants; (17) Registration of contracts for services provided by the NGO due to funds obtained from foreign sources; (18) The Cabinet of Ministers Decision 216 of June 5, 2015 on the Rules of Registration of Grant Agreements (Decisions).42

Questions:

1. Please comment on the current legislative provisions regarding the registration of grants, as well as other obligations, of international and national
2. Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure that these obligations do not impair the activities of NGOs in the country, in line with the international obligations of the State

8. Independence of Lawyers

On 31 October 2017, the Parliament approved amendments to the Code of Civil and Administrative procedures and the Bar Act only allowing members of the Bar Association to appear in court and represent clients in lawsuits. This significantly restricts the work of independent lawyers who represent human rights defenders, activists and journalists.

The Azerbaijan Bar Association, which has close ties to the executive power of the government, has less than 1000 registered members and 100 out of all registered lawyers do not currently practice law. Most members of the bar refuse to take on cases that are politically sensitive in any way.43

Moreover, a number of lawyers were disbarred in recent years after  defending  prominent  human rights defenders, activists or journalists. These lawyers include: Khalid Bagirov (represented Ilgar Mammadov), Elchin Namazov, Farhad Mehdiyev, Aslan Ismayilov, Muzaffar Bakhishov and Alaif Hasanov (represented Leyla Yunus and publicly complained about her treatment in prison), Yalchin Imanov (represented Abbas Huseynov and lodged a complaint  about torture and cruel prison conditions in the Gobustan prison).44 Also Elchin Sadigov could

42 Contact, ‘Civil Society Platform: Cabinet’s Decision Did Not Eliminate Legal Restrictions for NGOs’. 21 January 2017, available online at: http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/1/free/Social/en/59607.htm. 43 See e.g. Contact, ‘Lawyer: “Parliament violated our rights”’, 3 November 2017, available online at: http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/11/free/Social/en/66503.htm.;  Contact,  ‘The  appeal  of  lawyers is ignored’,           8          November               2017,                 available  online                  at: http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/11/free/Social/en/66625.htm.

• See g. Contact, ‘Another lawyer denied his duties’, 20 November 2017, available online at:

http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/11/free/Social/en/66935.htm-­‐

face disbarment; his membership is currently under review by the Bar Association. He further reported that police officers unlawfully entered his office and that he is subject to threats and blackmail for representing human rights defenders.45

 

Questions:

1. Please comment on the current legislative provisions regarding the ability to practice law and appear in
2. Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure that recent amendments in the Code of Civil and Administrative Procedures and the Bar Act do not impair access to a
3. Please provide information on how the independence of the legal profession and Bar Association is
4. Please indicate whether any actions in response to allegations that the disbarment of lawyers representing human rights defenders and political dissenters was arbitrary. Please particularly comment on the cases of Khalid Bagirov (represented Ilgar Mammadov), Elchin Namazov, Farhad Mehdiyev, Aslan Ismayilov, Muzaffar Bakhishov and Alaif Hasanov, Yalchin Imanov in this

 

9. Independence of the National Preventive Mechanism

The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) operates under the Ombudsman’s Office. It is the Ombudsman who appoints members of the NPM. The Ombudsman in turn is proposed by the President and appointed by the Parliament. Since the Parliament is not independent from the executive power but follows presidential proposals in most matters, the Ombudsman and NPM are not independent either. Although mandated to receive complaints, the NPM has not intervened in any of the above-­‐mentioned cases.

The 104-­‐page 2016 report of the NPM also reflects its lack of objectivity. It mostly informs about national and international  laws  on  the  prevention  of  torture  and  details  all  places  of  detentions it visited. It provides information on  recommendations  it  provided  to  each  of  the  visited facilities. Recommendations mostly concerned improving the infrastructure (cells,  visiting  areas etc.), prison registry, medical files, and training  of  prison  personnel.  It  is  frequently  mentioned that detainees did not make any complaints about their prison conditions. The report mentions overcrowding, obstacles in accessing a lawyer, problems with family visits, correspondence and  phone conversations, as well as lack of  training  as  areas  of  concern  without  providing  any  further details. The report’s recommendations also concern these issues. The report does not mention any cases or data on complaints about torture or other ill-­‐treatment the NPM received, let alone any actions taken in such cases.46

No independent NGOs are currently allowed to visit places of detention and monitor conditions and the treatment of detainees there.

 

• IRFS, ‘Lawyer Elchin Sadigov Reports Being Threatened and Harassed’, 7 February 2017, available online at:         https://www.irfs.org/news-­‐feed/lawyer-­‐elchin-­‐sadigov-­‐reports-­‐being-­‐threatened-­‐and-­‐ harassed/.
• Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, ‘Report on the Activity of the National preventive Mechanism against Torture 2016’, available online at: http://www.ombudsman.gov.az/upload/editor/files/NPM-­‐REPORT-­‐2016-­‐EN.pdf.

Questions:

1. Please provide information on the functional and financial independence of the Ombudsman Office complying with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles).
2. Please provide information on the compliance of the National Preventive Mechanism with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against
3. Please provide information on measures taken to ensure access to places of detention by independent NGOs.

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European Parliament

2014-2019

Committee on Foreign Affairs

2017/2056(INI)

19.12.2017

DRAFT REPORT

on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the negotiations on the EU-

Azerbaijan Comprehensive Agreement (2017/2056(INI))

Committee on Foreign Affairs Rapporteur:Norica Nicolai

PR_INI_AgreementRecomm

 

CONTENTS

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATION…………………….. 3

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATION

 

to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the negotiations on the EU-Azerbaijan Comprehensive Agreement

(2017/2056(INI))

 

The European Parliament,

• having regard to Articles 2, 3 and 8 and to Title V, in particular Articles 21, 22 and 36, of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as well as to Part Five of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),
• having regard to the launch on 7 February 2017 of negotiations between the European Union and Azerbaijan on a new comprehensive agreement,
• having regard to the Council‟s adoption on 7 November 2016 of the negotiating directives for this agreement,
• having regard to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Bureau message to the Heads of State or Government of 30 October 2017,
• having regard to the Joint Declaration of the Brussels Eastern Partnership Summit of 24 November 2017,
• having regard to itsresolution of 15 June 2017 on the case of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli¹, and to other resolutions on Azerbaijan, in particular those concerning the human rights situation and the rule of law,
• having regard to the resolution of 11 October 2017 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan,
• having regard to the notification on 25 October 2017 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of the launch of infringement proceedings due to the Azerbaijani authorities‟ continued refusal to implement the Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan judgment from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),
• having regard to Rules 108(4) and 52 of its Rules of Procedure,
• having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on International Trade (A8-0000/2018),

1. Recommends the following to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy:

 

General principles, core values and commitment to conflict resolution

• to ensure that the deepening of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan is

1 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0267.

undertaken on the basis of mutuallyagreed ambitions and the upholding of the core values and principles of democracy, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, in the interest of both parties and especially their citizens;

• to remind the Azerbaijani authorities aboutthe European Parliament‟s position as expressed in its resolution of 15 November 2017 on the Eastern Partnership, which unambiguously states that no comprehensive agreement will be ratified with a country that does not respect EU values, in particular with regard to the non-implementation of decisions by the European Court of Human Rights and the harassment, intimidation and persecution of human rights defenders, NGOs and journalists; to ensure that significant steps are taken as regards the release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Azerbaijan before any new EU- Azerbaijan agreement; to ensure a dedicated suspension mechanism related to human rights and fundamental freedoms is included in the new agreement;
• to remind the Azerbaijani authorities about the European Parliament position expressed in the same resolution according to which the ratification of new agreements between the EU and each of the parties to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be made conditional on meaningful commitments to and substantial progress towards solving the conflict, such as maintaining the ceasefire and supporting the implementation of the OSCE 2009 Basic Principles and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs;
• to ensure that the future agreement with Azerbaijan is ambitious, comprehensive and forward-looking, delivering tangible and concrete benefits not only for large companies but also for SMEs and for the citizens of the EU and of Azerbaijan;
• to ensure, in so far as the above conditions are fulfilled, speedy and steady progress in the negotiations with the objective of signing this new agreement before the next Eastern Partnership Summit in 2019;
• to actively communicate about the aims of the new agreement to improve public awareness, both in Azerbaijan and in the EU, about the expected opportunities and benefits that would arise from its conclusion, thereby countering all disinformation campaigns;

Political dialogue and regional cooperation

• to provide for regular and in-depth dialogue, notably on political reforms aimed at bolstering institutions, such as the judiciary in order to make them more democratic and independent, on upholding of human rights, and on fostering a strong civil society and ensuring its involvement in the reform process;
• to establish specific measures aimed at implementing the recommendations by the OSCE/ODHIR and the Council of Europe‟s Venice Commission with a view to ensuring progress towards elections and referenda that allow for a free and fair expression of Azerbaijani citizens‟ views and aspirations;
• to aim   for   provisions   that   enhance   cooperation   in   promoting   peace and

international justice and in particular for Azerbaijan to sign and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC); to also seek strong cooperation measures in countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as well as tackling illicit trade in small arms and light weapons;

• to provide for close cooperation in foreign and security matters to ensure as much convergence as possible, in particular as regards responses to global threats, conflict prevention, crisis management and regional cooperation;
• to ensure that high priority is given to dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia and to an enhanced EU participation in peacefully solving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in line with the OSCE 2009 Basic Principles and notably with the support of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, promoting all initiatives conducive to peace-building such as high-level talks, genuine confidence-building measures and exchanges between Armenian and Azerbaijani civil society;
• to put in place specific provisions to support the authorities‟ important efforts in aiding the large number of refugees and internally displaced persons and to support civilians living in conflict areas within Azerbaijan‟s internationally recognised borders; to contribute in particular to upholding their right to return to their homes and property and to be awarded compensation in line with the rulings of the ECHR;

 

The rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms

 

• to provide support for reform of the judiciary aimed at ensuring its independence from the executive and at strengthening the rule of law, as well as developing a strong framework for the protection of human rights and gender equality;

The are no reform of judiciary at all, the are no independent judiciary system at all. Please put attention to the analysis of the law violations at the trials on political prisoners . See here:

 

Courts

All judges passed sentence by political order See:

Judges

The parliament of Azerbaijan on November 3, 2017 adopted amendments to the law “On advocates and advocacy”, and actually liquidated the institution of representation. According to the changes, the legal representative of an individual in the court can only be the member  of Bar Association, or his close relative. Previously, a representative of an individual could have been any capable citizen of the country.

More Information see : http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/11/free/Social/en/66503.htm

On November 7, 2017 70 Azerbaijani lawyers who are not members of the Bar and dealing with the protection of the rights of citizens in the courts sent an appeal to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Justice Minister Fikret Mammadov. The authors of the appeal asked to cancel the amendments proposed by the Supreme Court to the Civil Procedure Code and other laws, according to which only their close relatives and members of the Bar Association can protect the rights of citizens in legal disputes. In order for this bill to become law, the document was to be signed by the president of the country.

See : http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/11/free/Social/en/66625.htm

But the appeal of lawyers is ignored by president Ilham Aliev

The population of Azerbaijan in 2017 is about 10 million people. Rights of citizens since January 2018 will be entitled to protect only members of the Bar Association, whose number in November 2017 is about 930 people. The number of lawyers, who have courage and civil position to protect the rights of political prisoners is rapidly decreasing, in November 2017 – no more than 8-9 people.

 

• to put in place specific provisions to support Azerbaijan in fighting corruption, money laundering and tax evasion;
• to allow for increased cooperation in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime, the prevention of radicalisation and cross-border crime;

It is important to stop forced radicalization of peaceful believers. 90 peaceful believers are political prisoners. They (Taleh Bagirov, Abbas Huseynov, Jabbar Jabbarov and others ) have horrible tortures after arrests ( 4 men died in the first day of arrest 26 November 2015), during the investigation and after trial in special Gobustan prison. The lawyer Yalchin Imanov appealed to the court about the  facts of torture in Gobustan prison regarding his client Abbas Huseynov, lawyer Imanov also told the media about torture in Gobustan prison against Abbas Huseynov and other activists of the movement “Muslim Unity”.

The appeal of lawyer was ignored and the Presidium of the Bar Association on November 20, 2017 decided to suspend the powers of lawyer Yalchin Imanov

See: https://www.ipd-az.org/

 

• to include provisions related to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms aimed at ending political prosecutions and abductions, the targeting of political dissidents, independent journalists, human rights defenders, NGO

representatives and members of some minority groups including the LGBTQ community; to set up a reinforced forum for a human rights dialogue between the EU and Azerbaijan to encourage and support in particular the implementation of comprehensive reforms of the judiciary, all in line with EU standards;

 

• to ensure a review of legislation and a halting of measures that seek to curtail civil society‟s legitimate activities notably as regards their registration requirements, foreign funding and grants registration, undue criminal investigations, raids of their offices, freezing of their accounts and persecution of their leaders;

 

• to ensure, before the conclusion of the negotiations, that Azerbaijan takes significant steps as regards the release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience which, in 2017, exceeded 150 persons, including, among the most emblematic cases, Ilgar Mammadov, Afgan Mukhtarli, Mehman Huseynov, Ilkin Rustamzada, Seymur Hazi, Rashad Ramazanov, Elchin Ismayilli, Giyas Ibrahimov, Beyram Mammadov, Asif Yusifli, Fuad Gahramanli and Aziz Orujov, the lifting of their travel bans once released, including those of Khadija Ismayilova and Intigam Aliyev; to secure the release and improvement of the situation of these individuals via the judiciary and the application of the rule of law;

 

Institute for Peace and Democracy together with the Center for the Protection of Political Prisoners     prepared the last list of political prisoners to December 10, 2017 -161 political prisoners.

Among this 161 persons in prison there are 12 bloggers and journalists, 8 members of opposition parties, 90 peaceful believers. The are political prisoners, who stay in prison more than 10 years, there are men, who sat more than 20 years….

• to seek, before the conclusion of the negotiations, that Azerbaijan commits to investigations into all cases of mistreatment of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, notably in the case of the late Mehman Galandarov, who died in custody 28 April 2017;

But tortures continuing in Azerbaijan

Horrible tortures against prisoners are in special prison of Ministry of National Security/MNS, today MNS is State Security Service (SSS). Arif Yunusov was tortured in this special prison during August-September 2015 during the nights. Till today (24 January 2018) he has big problems with health, as a result of tortures.

More horrible information about death after tortures came in May-July 2017 from Terter region

On May 7, 2017 the Prosecutor General, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Security Service issued a joint statement on revealing a group of military personnel

and civilians that have been compromising military secrets to the intelligence and special units  of  the  Armenian   Armed   Forces   (for   mere   satisfaction   of   «material   interests»). Authorities opened a criminal case with article 274 (state treason)  of  the  Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and launched a special investigative group with the members of the above-mentioned agencies.

On May 7 the wave of arrests affecting not just the military but also civilian residents of the villages in close proximity of the frontline, targeted mainly Tartar region. On May 7-8 media reported 47 arrests within one day, yet they did not specify names of the detainees.

On May 16 we already started receiving information about individuals tortured to death. As  of May 24 Institute for Peace and Democracy was provided information about death of 5 people killed without investigation or trial:

1. Mehman Telman ogly Huseynov, born in 1987, was arrested on May 7 in his own house in Jamilli village of Tartar region. On May 16 his body was brought to his wife who is now raising her two little children alone. The family was not allowed to bury Mehman Huseynov in the cemetery as he was “an enemy and a traitor”. Huseynov was buried outside of the cemetery of Agkand village without observing traditions and saying
2. Sahavat Binnatov was arrested on May 7 in his house in the village Jamilli of Tartar region. On May 17 the body of beaten to death Binnatov was returned to the family, also banned from burying him in the village cemetery. The place of burial is
3. Colonel Saleh Charif oglu Gafarov was arrested on May 4 in his own apartment in the village Kutkashen Gabala district. The policemen of the Gabala Police Department literally burst into the house and took away S.Gafarov without presenting any warrant for arrest. On May 14 his body was brought to the village Kutkashen. The members of the family were not even allowed to see the face of the deceased. Dug in the cemetery, which was surrounded by soldiers who did not allow relatives to the body of the
4. Elchin Guliyev, resident of Tartar region was arrested on May 10-11. His body too was returned to the family on May 18 with the same explanation that he was spying for
5. Lieutenant Tamkin Nizamioglu, born in 1993, was arrested on May 12. His body was returned to his native village Darkand in Ordubad region (Nakchivan) in the sealed coffin. His family was not allowed to see the body or to bury him. The members of special services themselves performed the burial and only after that announced the family about the death of their

Amidst all these crimes, on May 22, the delegation of European Parliament led by the member of the European People‟s Party of Germany David McAllister met with President Ilham Aliyev

(http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/5/subsc/politics%20news/ru/62475.htm and http://www.contact.az/ext/news/2017/5/subsc/politics%20news/en/62475.htm)

 

European Union is preparing to sign a new Comprehensive Agreement with Azerbaijan.

But the tortures and deaths continuing.

Soldier of service for a fixed period Dayndur Nuru oglu Azizli, born in 1995, was drafted to the army in 2016. On May 12, 2017 he was arrested in Terter region. On July 20, police brought the coffin containing his body to his parents. Relatives managed to open the coffin and see the body of D. Azizli. His face was mutilated after brutal tortures.

Families of six arrested men received information about the murders of relatives, but their corpses were not given out to families, and either the police or the military were buried.

During May-July, 2017, more than a hundred servicemen and civilians were arrested on charges of espionage. The detainees were not provided with lawyers, there were no trials in which the accused were charged and a decision was taken on remand in custody. From the very first hours of detention, all the suspects were subjected to brutal torture. How many people died after torture, we do not know. The total number of detainees is also unknown. A number of detainees could not stand torture and confessed to treason. Their trial is likely to take place in 2018. But it will be closed

It is very important to demand the investigations of this deaths.

• to underline the importance of a free and independent media, both off and on-line and to ensure a strengthened EU support for free and pluralistic media in Azerbaijan, with editorial independence and in line with EU standards, and pointing out that a reinforced attention to press and media freedom could take the form of a regional initiative encompassing all the Eastern Partnership countries;

The are no independent newspapers or TV at all.

 

Trade and economic cooperation

• to include fair and ambitious trade and investment provisions, in so far as is compatible with Azerbaijan‟s non-WTO-member status, that are fully in line with EU standards, notably sanitary, phytosanitary and environmental, and that ensure the protection of intellectual property rights including geographical indicators;
• to put in place robust measures that would ensure rapid progress towards improving the business and investment climate in Azerbaijan notably as regards taxation, the management of public finances and of public procurement, in order to allow for more transparency, better governance and accountability, equal access and fair competition;

 

Energy and other areas of cooperation

• to allow for increased cooperation in the energy sector in line with the EU‟s and Azerbaijan‟s strategic energy partnership;
• to also support the diversification of Azerbaijan‟s energy mix, promoting non- carbon energy sources and preparing for the post-carbon age; to note the important dimension given to climate change and to the impact on local communities in the pending decision by the European Investment Bank on the funding of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP);
• to put in place ambitious provisions on environmental protection and climate change reduction as part of the new agreement, including through a mainstreaming of these policies as part of other sector policies;
• to provide new perspectives for enhanced cooperation in non-energy related areas in order to diversify the Azerbaijani economy, boost job creation and allow for more people-to people contacts both at a regional and European level, in particular in the fields of education, health, transport and tourism;

(aa) to enhance cooperation with regard to youth and student exchanges and the development of new scholarship programmes and training courses, as well as a facilitated participation in the ERASMUS+ program which will ensure the development of skills and enable Azerbaijani people to become acquainted with the EU and vice-versa;

(ab) to also promote economic growth via transport and connectivity; to extend the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) to Eastern Partners;

 

Institutional provisions

(ac) to ensure that the agreement has a robust parliamentary dimension, strengthening the current provisions and mechanisms of cooperation to enable increased input into and scrutiny of its implementation, notably through the establishment of an upgraded interparliamentary structure;

(ad) to send to Parliament, with no more delay, all relevant documents related to these negotiations, in particular the negotiating directives that were adopted on 7 November 2016, in line with Article 218(10) TFEU, according to which the

„European Parliament shall be immediately and fully informed at all stages of the procedure‟; to also provide Parliament with negotiating texts and minutes of each negotiating round; to remind the Council that, due to the infringement of Article 218(10) TFEU in the past, the European Court of Justice has already annulled Council decisions on the signing and conclusion of several agreements; to bear in mind that Parliament’s consent on new agreements may also be withheld in the future, until the Council fulfils its legal obligations;

1. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and to the President, Government and Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

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