“The situation concerning the nearing municipality elections due on 17 December in Azerbaijan is miserable”, says Leyla Yunus, director of the non-government Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD). Mass arrest actions follow every elections in Azerbaijan and according to IPC the municipal election in 2004 are not an exception.(15 DEC-2004)
On 14 December the IPD distributed information about the current situation with elections to municipalities due on 17 December in Azerbaijan. The information had a request to international observers to pay attention to the election districts number 17 and 18 in the Digyakh village of Absheron district. In that village 13 candidates were promoted for 9 seats only three of whom were promoted by the population itself: Agayev Mustafa, Khashimov Djamaladdin and Djabrailov Yashar.
Pressure Constant pressure was made on those candidates by the executive power demanding to recall their candidacies. On 14 December at about 12.00 the officers of the Special Board on struggle with the Organized Crime SBSOC)of the MIA of AR (known as the main place of tortures of all detained due to political motives) detained Rasim Shakhmuradoglu inhabitant of the village and was sent to the SBSOC. In the evening of the same day at about 19.30 the officers of SBSOC detained one more inhabitant of the village Khashimov Ragim Bakhaduroglu “ a cousin of one of the candidates to the municipalities Khashimov Djamaladdin Agasalakhogly. It was also on 14 December that there was established a police observation over the house of Khashimov Djamaladdin Agasalakoglu. Khashimov who had been informed about it escaped from the village.
Intimidation In the SBSOC Aliyev R. And Khashimov R. Were demanded to sign evidence against candidate to municipalities Khashimov Djamaladdin and was released and let to go home late at night. He had been demanded to tell nobody about detention and to come to BSOC at 12.00 on 15 December.
However the threatened village inhabitants warned Khashimov Djamaladdin that they had been forced to give evidence that Khashimov Dj. had been preparing a plot with the purpose of removal of Alekper Alekperov, chair of municipalities and his father Beyukaga Alekperov, representative of the executive power in Digyakh village in the village shop that belonged to him. In spite of the absurdness of that information the police continue to watch over the house of the candidate for municipalities and the latter has to hide.
The information received from the neighboring settlement Novkhany
Proves that it is not by accident that Khashimov is afraid for his freedom. In Novkhany a certain G.G.N. (we bring only initials of his name as it was requested by his relatives) was promoted by local inhabitants as a candidate for municipalities. In spite of the pressure made on him he did not recall his candidacy and was arrested on 8 December and was accused in keeping the drugs.
Behind the bars
At the moment G.G.N. is imprisoned, his relatives ask human rights activists not to interfere in his case being afraid that otherwise they would not be able to release him having paid the bribe It is most probable that G.G.N. will refuse from the elections to municipalities and having paid the bribe will be released. Respecting the wish of his relatives we do not make his name known.
One more rigged election
This is the situation how the elections to municipalities will pass in Baku settlements. Mass arrest actions follow every elections in Azerbaijan and municipal ones for 2004 are not an exception.
