“I think all the items inserted into the OSCE report are true to the facts.” This is how human rights activist Murad Sadaddinov commented on the provisions of the OSCE report on people convicted for involvement into disturbances, which happened just aftermath the disputed presidential elections of October 2003. Leyla Yunus, Director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, said that OSCE recommendations to the Azerbaijani authorities to pay compensations to the suffered people must be immediately carried into life. (9-FEB-2005)
Background of the OSCE/ODIHR report
On February 4, 2005 Christian Shtrokhal, Director of OSCE ODIHR, made public the OSCE report on trials of opposition activists convicted for involvement into October 15-16, 2003 disturbances. The report noted that monitoring of the trials, during which over 100 opposition activists have been convicted, proved that Azerbaijan failed to fulfill its obligations to OSCE, to observe human rights and supremacy of law and that the trials were contrary to international law and Azerbaijan domestic legislation.
The OSCE recommended that appropriate Azerbaijani agencies should reverse results of trials conducted with blatant violations of the law and the convicts must be freed.
Authorities must administer all the complaints related to tortures and maltreatment and bring to responsibility everyone who is to blame for such actions. Authorities must investigate all the cases of inadequate use of force by law enforcement agents on October 15-16, 2003 and take measures to bring them to responsibility. Authorities must ensure right of victims of tortures and inadequate use of force to receive compensations. An independent agency must be set up to investigate the cases of tortures and maltreatment and etc.
Failure in commitments
The OSCE representatives watched the trials from the beginning till the end and their conclusions are based not only on the information submitted by human rights activists, but also on their own observations, Sadaddinov said. Azerbaijan failed to fulfill its commitments in this field, he added.
Unfair court trials
Leyla Yunus, Director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, said that recommendations to the Azerbaijani authorities to pay compensations to the suffered people must be immediately carried into life. She said that dozens of complaints have been lodged to the courts. But authorities arrest people demanding investigation of torture cases, instead of arresting those who tortured people. Arrest and sentencing of Taliat Aliyev, secretary of Democracy party, to two years of imprisonment is a bright example of that.
Mrs.Yunus said that all the trials have been conducted with irregularities. She said that all democratic forces of the country must unite to demand release of “October prisoners.” She added that parliamentary elections can be conducted, until we have political prisoners. Every elections increase number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, said Yunus.
