Attn. Mr. Ilham Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Fax: +994 12 492 06 25, +994 412 92 28 68
E-mail: office@pa.gov.az, office@apparat.gov.az
Prosecutor’s Office
Fax: +994 12 492 06 82, +994 12 492 26 63
E-mail: eldar_sultanov@prosecutor.gov.az
Mr. Fikrat F. Mammadov
Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan
E-mail: contact@justice.gov.az
Fax + 99412 430 09 81
Paris-Geneva, December 18, 2014
Re: Call for an immediate end to crackdown against human rights
defenders
Excellencies,
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), strongly condemns the
intensifying crackdown against human rights defenders in Azerbaijan.
In 2014, despite the release of two human rights defenders, Messrs
Hasan Huseynli and Emil Mammadov, five others
have been arrested and remain in arbitrary, pre-trial detention: Ms.
Leyla Yunus, Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy
(IPD) and a member of OMCT General Assembly, Mr. Arif
Yunusov, Head of the Conflictology Department of IPD, Mr.
Intigam Aliyev, a human rights lawyer, Head of the Legal Education
Society, and Mr. Rasul Jafarov, an active participant in
"Sing for Democracy" and "Art for Democracy", and Ms.
Khadija Ismailova, an independent investigative journalist
in Azerbaijan. In addition, two other defenders, Messrs. Anar
Mammadli, Chairperson of the Election Monitoring and Democracy
Studies Centre (EMDSC) and Bashir Suleymani, Executive
Director of EMDSC, were sentenced in May 2014 by the Court on Grave Crimes
to respectively 5,5 years’ and 3,5 years’ imprisonment on
charges of “tax evasion”, “illegal
entrepreneurship”, and “abuse of authority”, in the
framework of trials which failed to comply with international standards. In
total, eight defenders are currently behind bars.
The past days witnessed another wave of harassment against a number of
those above-mentioned, in an attempt to further sanction their human rights
activities:
- On December 15, 2014, the Observatory was informed that heavier charges
were brought against Mr. Intigam Aliyev, for “large-scale
misappropriation and embezzlement” (Article 179.3.2 of the Criminal
Code), punishable by up to 12 years in prison. On October 24, 2014, his
pre-trial detention was extended to February 8, 2015. Mr. Aliyev is
currently awaiting trial.
- Similarly, on December 12, 2014, the Observatory was informed that new
charges of “forgery” and “misappropriation” were
brought against Mr. Rasul Jafarov, under Articles 313 and 179.3.2 of the
Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, also punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
Mr. Jafarov was previously sentenced to pre-trial detention on criminal
charges such as “treason” (Article 274 of the Criminal Code),
“large-scale fraud” (Article (178.3.2), “falsification of
documents” (Article 320), “tax evasion” (Article 213), and
“illegal business” (Article 192) or “abuse of
authority” (Article 308.2). He is currently awaiting trial.
- In addition, concerns remain about repeated reports of ill-treatment and
bad health condition of Ms. Leyla Yunus. The latest incident took place on
December 11, 2014, when Ms. Yunus was transferred into solitary confinement
in a punishment cell for more than a day, because of an anxious behaviour
and refusal to be examined by doctors. Concerns remain about her physical
and psychological integrity (see Observatory Press Release of November 27,
2014). Ms. Yunus is facing the same above-mentioned charges of
“treason”, “large-scale fraud”, “falsification
of documents”, “tax evasion”, “illegal
business” and “abuse of authority”. On October 24, 2014,
her pre-trial detention was extended until February 28, 2015. She is
currently awaiting trial.
- On December 5, 2014, Ms. Khadija Ismailova was sentenced to two months
of pre-trial detention under accusations of “inciting to
suicide” on the basis of Article 125 of the Criminal Code. The charges
relate to an investigation opened in late October, after her former
boyfriend, Mr. Tural Mustafayev, accused her of driving him to commit
suicide. Before being presented to the court on December 5, Ms. Ismailova
had been summonsed for an interrogation by the prosecutor’s office. On
the eve of the charges, the head of the presidential administration, Mr.
Ramiz Mekhtiev, had made a speech about so-called “double standards of
the world order and contemporary Azerbaijan”. On this occasion, he had
accused, amongst others, Ms. Ismailova of propagating “heinous ideas
towards Azerbaijan”. The Observatory fears that this detention might
be a measure of reprisals against Ms. Ismailova, in connection with her
professional activities. Previously, on September 5, 2014, Ms. Ismailova had
been held for two hours at Baku airport as she was returning from an OSCE
meeting organised in Tbilisi. On October 5, 2014, she was again retained at
the airport for several hours after a trip to Strasbourg, where she had met
with officials of the Council of Europe. In addition, on October 12, 2014
and November 18, 2014, she was banned twice from leaving the country
[1].
The Observatory is also preoccupied over the recent dismissal from the Bar
Association of lawyer Khalid Baghirov, the legal representative of Messrs.
Arif Yunusov and Rasul Jafarov. On November 5, 2014, Mr. Khalid Baghirov had
already been dismissed from the case of Ms. Leyla Yunus.
The Observatory is further concerned over information received about the
impossibility for a delegation of the Venice Commission to visit Azerbaijan,
in spite of an official request submitted to the authorities. On December
15, 2014, the Venice Commission adopted an Opinion, calling on Azerbaijan to
repeal the amendments to the Law on Amendments to the Law on
Non-Governmental Organisations (Public Unions and Foundations)
[2]. A new “anti-NGO”
law, adopted in 2014, provides the authorities with additional powers for
temporary suspension and permanent banning of national and foreign NGOs, and
introduce additional administrative requirements and increased checks.
In the light of the ongoing and intensifying crackdown on civil society in
Azerbaijan since summer 2014, the Observatorycalls on the authorities
to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release all detained human rights
defenders, since their detentions are arbitrary and only aim at sanctioning
their human rights activities;
- Guarantee the right to defence of all detained human rights defenders by
putting an end to the practice of depriving human rights defenders of their
lawyers by calling them as witnesses of the cases;
- Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity
of all detained human rights defenders, and all human rights defenders in
Azerbaijan;
- Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial and
investigatory levels - against all detained human rights defenders, and more
generally all human rights defenders in Azerbaijan;
- Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December
9, 1998, especially:
Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually
and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection
and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and
international levels”;
Article 5, which underscores the right of every individual to form, join,
and participate in nongovernmental organizations; and
Article 12.2, which provides that the State shall “take all
necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence,
threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure
or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate
exercise of his or her rights”;
- Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and
international instruments ratified by Azerbaijan.
In the hope that you will take these requests in consideration, we remain
at your disposal for any further information,
Karim LAHIDJI, FIDH President
Gerald STABEROCK, OMCT Secretary General
[1]
Ms. Ismailova is also facing another trial since October 3, in the framework
of the claim of a political activist, Mr. Elman Türkoglu, who accused
her of defamation.