AZE 002 / 1209 / OBS 196
Physical assault
Azerbaijan
December 22, 2009
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), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Azerbaijan.
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the attack of two NGO activists, Messrs. Ilgar Nasibov and Vafadar Eyvazov, who work for the Nakhchivan Resource Centre for Democracy and NGO Development. Mr. Ilgar Nasibov is also a journalist reporting regularly on the human rights situation in Nakhchivan for the radio Azadliq (Azerbaijani service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)
According to the information received, on December 15, 2009, Messrs. Ilgar Nasibov and Vafadar Eyvazov were attacked, verbally insulted and seriously beaten by a group of 50 sport students and professors from the Nakhchivan State University on the campus of the university. Messrs. Ilgar Nasibov and Vafadar Eyvazov were trying to conduct an opinion poll in the framework of the project "Struggle against corruption - application of anti-corruption mechanism in the high schools of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic". The group urged the two human rights defenders to leave the University campus and they refused. The students then dragged out the two human rights defenders and beat them heavily.
Policemen who came at the scene of incident did not register the event and advised to appeal to the city police directorate. The officers of the city police directorate did not react and advised to appeal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where their attempt to lodge a complaint was rejected because of ended working time.
Messrs. Ilgar Nasibov and Vafadar Eyvazov suffer from rib fractures caused by heavy injuries on the abdominal cavity and spine. According to the information received, the doctors refused to treat them, though both were hospitalised: both doctors were intimidated by local officials to stay away from providing medical help to the activists.
The Observatory urges the authorities of Azerbaijan to order a thorough and impartial investigation into this attack in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law. The Observatory further calls upon the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (CoE) to act in accordance with the CoE Declaration on Human Rights Defenders[1], and to urge the Republic of Azerbaijan to comply with its duties under the terms of the above-mentioned Declaration and to abide by the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan, urging them to:
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Azerbaijan in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic missions or embassies in Azerbaijan.
Paris-Geneva, December 22, 2009
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
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