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Paris, 26 September 2003
In the perspective of the fifth Co-operation Council between
the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to be held
on 1st October 2003, the International Federation for Human
Rights (FIDH) would like to review the situation of democratic
freedoms in the country. In particular, the FIDH wishes to provide
the Co-operation Council with an evaluation on two specific
points: the presidential election campaign and the situation
of political prisoners. Indeed, these two topics were two of
the focus points of the fourth EU-Azerbaijan Council, which
took place on 1st October 2002. During this council, “both
sides confirmed their enduring commitment to the value of proper
treatment of prisoners. Both sides attach great importance to
the holding of successful Presidential elections in 2003. Azerbaijan
undertakes to ensure that the preparations for the Presidential
election meet international standards”.
The FIDH is preoccupied by the blatant restrictions of fundamental
freedoms and by the concentration of power in the hand of the
President. The same statement was made by the Council of Europe
Monitoring Group, which put forward a “standstill and
lack of progress on a number of sensitive issues”, and
a “slower rate of democratic progress” in its third
Progress Report of 3 September.
Obstacles to the free conducting of presidential election
The new President of Azerbaijan will be elected on 15 October
2003. This major event could be an important stage for the country's
transition to the rule of law. However, recent events show that
the authorities are not ready for this transition and want to
retain their grip on Azerbaijan.
Political unrest has started months before the official election
campaign began on 16 August.
On 23 June, the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), the majority party
elected current President Heydar Aliev as its candidate for
the presidential ballot. He is thus running for a third term.
On 4 July, the Central Election Commission (CEC) registered
Ilham Aliev, the President's son, as presidential candidate.
His name was put forward by an independent group of voters,
not belonging to any official political party. Ilham Aliev declared
that he is running simply to support his father, and to participate
more actively in his campaign. This appointment is very significant
considering the fact that Heydar Aliev's health is deteriorating.
In addition, on 4 August, President Aliev appointed his son
as Prime Minister. According to constitutional amendments passed
in August 2002, the Prime Minister becomes President if the
latter is incapacitated or resigns. This manoeuvre demonstrates
Aliev’s will to retain his power by all means. It is worth
noting that article 69.2 of the Electoral Code prohibits a serving
Prime Minister from running the presidential elections.
On 9 August 2003, 20 000 people demonstrated in Baku against
Ilham Aliev's appointment. On 11 August, the Azerbaijan Home
Office and the Office of the Prosecutor General issued a joint
statement in which they warned that they will curtail any “negative
developments that threaten the interests of the State”.
Protests however continued, and the following day, the police
force attacked demonstrators with rubber truncheons. Ilham Aliev
subsequently stepped down in order to run the elections.
Harassment and repression of members of opposition political
parties and opposition candidates is another way of diverting
the election process.
In May 2003, the head of the Central Election Commission declared
during an interview on television that he would reject the application
of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP) candidate, Rasul Guliev,
a former speaker of the Parliament now in exile. This declaration
was made even before Rasul Guliev's application was officially
submitted to the CEC.
In response, the ADP held meetings and pickets to demand that
Rasul Guliev’s rights be respected and that the elections
be free and democratic. The meetings were all violently repressed
by the police forces, even though they were organised in respect
of the Law about free gathering. This law requests that the
local authorities be informed of the gathering in advance. On
25 May 2003, 14 members of the ADP were arrested and sentenced
to up to 15 days imprisonment following a gathering. Fifteen
members were fined. Moreover, according to the Health Commission
of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party, 54 people were wounded.
On 18 June, the executive authorities of Baku prohibited another
meeting. The meeting was held in front of the CEC despite of
the prohibition. Thirty-four protesters were severely beaten
up, and 25 ADP members were arrested. Similar events took place
on 21 and 28 June. According to the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan
(HRCA), hospitals received orders not to provide medical assistance
to the people injured during the protests.
On 13 June, the head of the ADP in Agsu was arrested while
collecting signatures, which are necessary for the application
to the CEC. The petition was confiscated by the police.
On 2 July, the CEC officially rejected Rasul Guliev’s
application. The CEC alleged that the application did not comply
with article 100 of the Constitution, which lists the requirements
to be met by a candidate. In particular, the CEC recalled that
Mr Guliev had been living in the United States for seven years,
and that he thus did not comply with the requirement demanding
that every candidate be a permanent resident in Azerbaijan for
at least ten years. The CEC agreed that the fact that Mr Guliev
was in exile for political reasons and had not been engaged
in any political activities in his host country could have constituted
an exception. It however held that no sufficient evidence had
been given concerning that matter. The CEC also argued that
Mr Guliev's application did not comply with article 54.8 of
the Electoral Code, which deals with the compulsory documents
to be submitted. Documents issued abroad are accepted in Azerbaijan
only after authentication by the Consular department, and legalisation
by the authorities of Azerbaijan. Although the said documents
were authenticated by the US Department of State on 16 July
2003, the Azeri executive authorities considered that they did
not comply with the requirements of article 54.8.
On 30 August 2003, Mirvary Gahramanli, member of the political
council of the ADP and of the Azerbaijan Federation of Human
Rights, was beaten up by the police during a meeting of the
ADP. She had to be taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed
with skull and brain contusions.
The FIDH deplores the rejection of Rasul Guliev’s application,
and considers that this decision is based on political considerations.
Indeed, Rasul Guliev is a major opposition figure.
The election campaign is also characterised by the increasing
pressure exercised on independent and opposition newspapers
and journalists.
For instance, in the past few months, the newspaper Yeni Mussavat
has been sentenced to three fines amounting to 100,000 US$.
On 26 July 2003, Justice Minister Fikret Mamadov accused the
media of trying to destabilise the country during the election
process, and said he would crack down on media undermining the
“honour and dignity” of the President. On the same
day, several opposition journalists were arbitrarily arrested
for having violated traffic legislation as they were heading
to a press club.
On 8 September, journalists were attacked by the police outside
Baku police station. The journalists were waiting for an official
police statement concerning the summoning of the representative
of a political party, who fought with another politician during
a TV show. Some were reportedly taken inside the station to
be beaten up.
The OSCE media watchdog and the Council of Europe voiced their
concern that harassment of media ”may discourage critical
reporting at a time when media pluralism and the full and unhindered
exercise of press freedoms will be essential in the run up to
the forthcoming presidential elections”.
All these events violate freedoms of the media and expression,
as embodied in particular in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) and the Convention for the protection of Fundamental
Rights and Freedoms (ECHR), as well as the right to take part
in public life. In this regard, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees the right of every
citizen “to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic
elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and
shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression
of the will of the electors”.
In addition, the right to free and fair election has also been
violated. The FIDH recalls that paragraph 7(5) of OSCE 1990
Copenhagen document states that States shall “respect
the right of citizens to seek political or public office, individually
or as representatives of political parties or organizations,
without discrimination”. According to paragraph 7(6),
States shall “ensure that law and public policy work to
permit political campaigning to be conducted in a fair and free
atmosphere in which neither administrative action, violence
nor intimidation bars the parties and the candidates from freely
presenting their views and qualifications, or prevents the voters
from learning and discussing them”.
Repression of civil society and of Human Rights Defenders
The FIDH notes that opposition political parties and their
members are not the only targets of governmental repression.
The authorities also harass civil society and Human Rights Defenders,
and tries to hinder their activities.
On 23 April 2003, the Amal Human Rights Protection Committee
(Amal) launched a petition demanding the resignation of Heydar
Aliev. 126 members of the organisation, many of them famous
intellectual figures, signed the petition. All of them subsequently
suffered from pressure and intimidation. The government mass
media and the pro-government television channels took part in
this process. On 6 May, during a session of the Milli Meljis
(Parliament), the chairman of the Parliament commission, Shahlar
Asgarov, publicly criticised the activities of the organisation
and its members.
Many signatories of the petition were threatened of dismissal
if they did not refute their signatures. Pressure was exerted
on their relatives, many of which were fired from their jobs
and sometimes personally threatened. For instance, the Board
of Baku State University set up a special committee to audit
the records of the professors who signed the appeal. Poet Musa
Yagb's son was fired from his position following his father's
signature of the petition.
In April 2003, in the framework of an urgent appeal of the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a
FIDH and OMCT joint program, the FIDH had expressed its concern
at the attacks and threats experienced during April 2003 by
Eldar Zeinalov, chairman of the HRCA, and Leyla Yunus, chairman
of the Institute of Peace and Democracy. The police initiated
preliminary investigation concerning the mob attacks of the
HRCA office on 23 and 24 April. The FIDH is however preoccupied
by the police investigator's decision, on 13 May, not to start
an official investigation. According to the investigator, the
attack was carried out by a crowd of persons who cannot be identified.
Moreover, no preliminary investigation was opened concerning
personal threats against Eldar Zeinalov, nor concerning the
attacks against Leyla Yunus and the Institute of Peace and Democracy.
The FIDH points out that those threats and pressure exercised
against civil society and Human Rights Defenders constitute
a restriction of the right of association, guaranteed by article
17 of the UDHR, article 22 of the ICCPR, article 11 of the ECHR,
and paragraph 9(3) of the Copenhagen Document. The FIDH moreover
recalls that the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders provides
for a set of rights for the protection of Human Rights Defenders'
activities, to be respected and protected by States. Article
1 of this Declaration recalls 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 12(2) states 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 the rights
referred to in the present Declaration.”
Reduction of sentences connected with the Nardaran events
The FIDH welcomes the reduction of the sentences of individuals
who had been imprisoned in connection with the Nardaran events.
In June 2002, appalling economic and social conditions sparked
major demonstrations in the town of Nardaran. The police fired
the crowd, and killed one and wounded many. Waves of arrests
followed these events (see FIDH report of the International
Mission of Judicial Observation, “Azerbaijan: Civil Society
and Justice locked by the Aliev system”, November 2002).
According to the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan, the 5 years
imprisonment sentences of Veliyev Hikmet Mirzaba and Zakiyev
Etibar Zaki were commuted to suspended sentences of 3 years
imprisonment. The sentence of Alikram Aliev, leader of the Azeri
Islamic Party, was reduced from 8 to 6 years imprisonment.
However, the FIDH recalls that the trials of the Nardaran protestors
were held in violation of the right to a fair trial. Their detention
is thus still arbitrary, and constitutes a breach of freedoms
of expression and of demonstration. In addition, to this day,
the authors of the repression of the villagers have not been
prosecuted.
Trials of Political prisoners
The FIDH takes note of the presidential decree of 17 June,
pardoning and releasing 97 inmates, and reducing the sentences
of 9 of them. According to the information received from the
Press Service of the President, 38 of the inmates concerned
by the decree had been convicted for crimes against the independence
and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
It is extremely difficult to know how many political prisoners
are still held, as the government refuses to acknowledge their
existence, and access to information is difficult. According
to sources, there are between 300 and 700 political prisoners
in the country. According to a Council of Europe report, published
in January 2002, “at the end of December 2001, there must
be at least 500 political prisoners still in detention”.
Even though the authorities pronounce pardon decrees from time
to time, they still refuse to grant a general amnesty (see FIDH
report of the International Mission of Judicial Observation,
“Azerbaijan: Civil Society and Justice locked by the Aliev
system”, November 2002).
In this respect, the FIDH would like to draw attention on the
situation of three emblematic political figures. I.Gamidov,
sentenced to 14 years imprisonment, R.Gaziev, and A.Gumbatov,
both sentenced to life imprisonment were all convicted because
of their political activities during the 1991-1995 transition
period. They were recognised as “political prisoners”
by resolution 1272 of the Council of Europe.
In August 2001, under the pressure of the Council of Europe,
the government agreed to carry out new trials. The new legal
proceedings started on 24 January 2002 for Gumbatov, 29 May
2002 for Gamidov, and 21 June 2002 for Gaziev. However, it seems
that once more, the authorities lack the willingness to guarantee
the right to a fair trial, as laid out by articles 11 and 12
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 6 of
the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). Irregularities have reportedly
been occurring during sessions. For instance, Gamidov was not
brought to a session of his retrial that took place on 20 June
2003. The same day, journalists' dictaphones and cameras were
confiscated.
Sessions of the retrials have been held at the 9th correctional
colony, where the three men are detained, while the Appeal Court
normally sits in Baku. The FIDH is concerned that Gamidov, Gumbatov
and Gaziev seem to be treated as prisoners, and not as defendants
who should be presumed innocents and therefore tried in a proper
court instead of a prison. This constitutes a violation of Article
6(2) of the ECHR, which states: “everyone charged with
a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty
according to law”.
On 2 July 2003, I.Gamidov's sentence was commuted to 11 years
imprisonment. Considering he has already served 8 years, he
will thus remain in prison for 3 more years. On 7 July, Gumbatov
was reconvicted with life imprisonment. Gaziev's retrial is
still ongoing. The latest session of Gaziev's trial took place
on 25 August 2003, after a four months interruption. The State
Prosecutor delivered the same speech he had given at the end
of the original trial in 1995, but this time requested that
Gaziev be sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. The next session
will be held on 25 September.
The FIDH notes the reduction of Gamidov's sentence, but is
concerned that his deteriorating health may not enable him to
spend 3 more years in prison. The FIDH deplores the fact that
Gumbatov's sentence remains unchanged, and is concerned that
it could set the example for Gaziev's trial.
In light of this information, the retrials may be considered
as a smoke screen enabling the authorities to claim they have
complied with resolution 1272 of the Council of Europe.
The FIDH recalls that at the time of its accession to the Council
of Europe, Azerbaijan committed itself to “release or
to grant new trials to those prisoners who are regarded as “political
prisoners” by human rights protection organisations, especially
Messrs. Iskander Gamidov Alikram Gumbatov and Raquim Gaziev”
(opinion N°222 (2000), paragraph 14 iv b). There however
still remains an important number of political prisoners which
have not been released, or who have not been granted a new trial.
The FIDH insists that stability in the region depends on the
introduction and respect of the rule of law.
The FIDH considers that the policy implemented by Azerbaijan
contradicts Article 2 of the EU-Azerbaijan “Partnership
and Co-operation Agreement”, which states that “respect
for democracy, principles of international law and human rights
as defined in particular in the United Nations Charter, the
Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris for a New Europe,
[...] underpin the internal and external policies of the Parties
and constitute essential elements of partnership and of this
Agreement.
The FIDH highlights the necessity for the European Union to
be consistent with its previous commitments, as well as with
the positions and recommendations of other European institutions,
such as the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The FIDH moreover
recalls that in June 2001,the Council's conclusions on the European
Union's role in promoting human rights and democratisation in
third countries reaffirmed the strong commitment to “mainstreaming
of human rights and democratisation into EU policies and actions”
and stated that “human rights and democratisation should
systematically and at different levels be included in all EU
political dialogues and bilateral relations with third countries”.
In addition, the Communication on human rights, adopted on 8
May 2001 by the European Commission states that "in all
dialogues with third countries, the Commission will in the future
seek to ensure that the discussion covers issues of concern
relating to human rights and democracy" (…) "however
a prerequisite for success is that these states are genuinely
ready to co-operate. The EU should pursue this approach wherever
possible, while recognising that in some cases, the third country
may have no genuine commitment to pursue change through dialogue
and consultation, and negative measures may therefore be more
appropriate".
The FIDH therefore urges the European Union to exert political
and diplomatic pressure on Azerbaijan for improving the human
rights situation. |
