Written by HRH Baku/Shahla Ismailova; materials from HRW and HR organizations.

Prior to the April visit of president Aliev to USA, a group of human rights organizations in Azerbaijan sent the joint letter to the US President George W. Bush on the poor human rights situation in Azerbaijan. In addition Human Rights Watch called the US President to urge the Azerbaijani leader to end harassment of the political opposition and to establish the groundwork for legitimate future elections. (01-MAY-2006)
 
The letter says that Azerbaijan has a long history of unfair and corrupt elections and of using politically motivated arrests to silence critics and opposition politicians. International observers uniformly deemed the November 2005 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan to be neither free nor fair. Observers documented harassment of opposition supporters, intimidation of observers, tampering with election results and ballot-box stuffing. 

“Azerbaijan has a poor human rights record, yet it is an important U.S. ally,” said Holly Cartner, executive director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch. “This is a key moment for President Bush to take a principled stand on human rights and to clarify the administration’s expectations.”
 
The letter states that in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, the government arrested dozens of politicians, political activists and their supporters on allegations of attempting to stage government coups. Torture remains a widespread and largely overlooked problem in Azerbaijan. A glaring case recently documented by Human Rights Watch involves the torture in custody of three teenage boys detained on murder charges. In March 2005, police officials and officials from the local prosecutor’s office subjected all three boys to severe beatings and other serious abuse amounting to torture, including suffocation, denial of food, water and sleep, threats of additional and more severe violence, threats of rape, and threats against the boys’ family members. The boys are currently awaiting trial and remain detained in extremely poor conditions that violate international standards.
 
In its letter Human Rights Watch urged President Bush to encourage President Aliev to ensure that all defendants, including those accused of political crimes, receive full access to lawyers and fair and open trials. Human Rights Watch also called on President Bush to emphasize that torture of detainees in all circumstances is illegal and immoral, and impedes the state’s ability to guarantee stability and the rule of law.