“Many people addressing to our Committee are mostly those who suffered and were terribly tortured by police. Nowadays, our citizens are so awfully tortured in police stations and military units. There is no strange that it is impossible to surprise the people of Azerbaijan if someone beaten and tortured in police station will be killed there. The tortures are so much terrible that everybody will confess in any crime that he had never committed. All society of our country is aware of the fact that if somebody had been in police station could die as a consequence of tortures; nobody will be punished for this”, says Elchin Behbudov, chairman of Azerbaijan Committee Against Tortures (ACAT). (9-FEB-2005)

 
As ACAT noted in its reports of 2002, 2003, the new acts of tortures in police stations were found out in 2004 and the presence of this fact really gives concern. Office of Struggle against Organized Crime and Head Police station of Baku of MIA has become more awful than the Gestapo in the fascism’s period. If we affirm that in history of mankind and in the period of most savage dictatorship there weren’t tortures like these we don’t be wrong.

Background on ACAT
Azerbaijan Committee against Torture (ACAT) was constituted in the 23rd of January 2002 and fights against torture in the country. ACAT has not got official registration from the Ministry of Justice, though it has repeatedly asked for registration. ACAT has access to a great number of prisons and detention cells. The organization often holds monitoring in various prisons and reports the results of the monitoring to public and government bodies. ACAT is chaired by former political prisoner Elchin Behbudov, while the staff is composed of those, who suffered tortures.  Committee has relations with a lot of international organizations functioning in the field of human rights’ defense. Committee officially applied to the Worldwide Organization against Torture and most likely will be the member of this Organization in the coming year 2005.
ACAT is the potential member of the Human Right House in Azerbaijan.

Massive tortures
We have to consider with great regret that neither Head Prosecutor’s Office nor Presidential Apparatus take any measures against these crimes. On the contrary, perpetrated crimes are concealed and they shut their eyes to it. Naturally that such attitude to this kind of violations   is the cause of making them mass.
There is no strange that it is impossible to surprise the people of Azerbaijan if someone beaten and tortured in police station will be killed there. The tortures are so much terrible that everybody will confess in any crime that he had never committed.

Torture types
One of the common torture type is that the police hang the detainee or prisoner and begin to beat strongly his under foots with rubber club until he looses his consciousness, shock his body with electricity (for this purpose our policemen invented special ring, putting through finger), put on gas-mask, close air hole and beat it until person becomes unconscious (when they open air hole instead of fresh air they burn cotton wool and make person to take this air, it is also our policemen’s invention), squeeze foot and hand fingers between doors, inject needles  to hand fingers or pull out nails with nippers , rape, undress and beat strongly genitals with blunt implement and other methods are very prevalent in police stations.

7 people succumbed tortures
Seven people didn’t bear tortures and died during 2004. They all died of the severe and cruel torments committed by either by police, military official or prison wards. They are: Mardan Abushov, Ramiq Abbasov, Etibar Najafov, Azer Safarov, Yavar Najafov, Badal Babayev and Akif Mirzeyev.
Numerous tortures exists in military units, where corrupted commandeers, military officials urge soldiers, fresh conscripts to pay bribe. For instance: One of these seven deceased people is Yavar Najafov, who was beaten by military commander Zaka Babayev and his assistant Rasul Umudov and had blows in left eye, nose from above, neck and left side of head got by fists, kicks and blunt implement on the 23rd of July, 2003. From these traumas the conscript Najafov died in the medical unit on the 21st of July 2003. The reason of beating was demand to bring bribe for them. When they didn’t get it, they beat Najafov cruelly and stroke a strong cranial-cerebral blow on him. Forensic medical examination was conducted 3 times and was testified that he died from tortures. But they accused the innocent dentist of medical unit and declared that Yavar had died from heat blow. Najafov’s parents make protest against it, but till now there has been no result.

Recommendations
ACAT urge the officials to investigate complaints shown in its 2004 report and to call to account policemen and court organs for their participation in facts of tortures. It also underlines to provide detainees and persons in conditional freedom with lawyer immediately and to ensure people suffered tortures with impartial and righteous forensic medical examination.
It is especially needed to improve living conditions, food, keeping of soldiers in military units, to secure properly getting their cash benefit to them, to stop actions against their dignity, bad treatment and any other tortures, to punish military men committed these crimes without any concessions, to make an end to bribe and misappropriation. In general, to create condition when parents could send their children on military service and be sure that their sons will return home safe and sound, without tuberculosis and won’t be killed by military men.
ACAT appeals to UNO, Council of Europe, and OSCE to demand from the government of Azerbaijan Republic not to hide torture facts and to fulfill the commitments, which Azerbaijan has undertaken before the international Conventions and organizations.