PACE must take action to address alarming freedom of expression situation in Azerbaijan

Two journalists have been abducted and beaten in connection with criticising the authorities. Two youth activists from opposition parties have been expelled from Baku State University in the past week.

Immediate action needed
The IPGA calls on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), left, to take immediate action to address this alarming state of affairs.

Although Azerbaijan is bound as a Council of Europe Member State to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, in the weeks leading up to the 11-15 April 2011 PACE session, the Azerbaijani authorities have engaged in a crackdown on freedom of expression in the country.

“The human rights situation in Azerbaijan has reached a critical level. We are receiving almost daily reports of abuse against cyber activists, journalists and others in connection with exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. This raises the question: how many more need to be arrested or beaten before the Council of Europe takes action to hold this Member State accountable? The credibility of the Council of Europe depends on such stewardship”, said Dr Agnès Callamard, Executive Director of Article 19.

Arrests of bloggers worrying
Key areas of concern for the IPGA delegation include the recent wave of arrests of bloggers and activists in connection with the protests – some of whom face long prison sentences on the basis of politically motivated charges; increased pressure on non – governmental organizations working on democracy and human rights issues, including the closure of the Human Rights House Azerbaijan.

“This sudden spate of arrests of opposition activists and journalists is alarming. We are deeply concerned by the arrests that took place before the scheduled protests, as this suggests that the authorities are trying to silence people before they even begin to exercise their right to freedom of expression”, said Emin Huseynov, Chairman of the Baku–based Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety.

The IPGA delegation urges the Council of Europe and PACE national delegations to immediately increase their monitoring of Azerbaijan’s compliance with its Council of Europe obligations and hold Azerbaijan accountable.

The IPGA is particularly concerned by a number of disturbing recent trends, including:

The wave of arrests and beatings connected with recent protests
From February to April 2011, the Azerbaijani authorities arrested hundreds of people for participating in a series of pro-democracy protests inspired by recent events in the Middle East and North Africa and used force to break up the protests.

Further, dozens of cyber and political activists involved in organising these protests were arrested in the run-up to the events. These include blogger and youth activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, who faces up to two years’ imprisonment on charges of evading military service, and opposition political activist Jabbar Savalan, who faces up to three years’ imprisonment on charges of drug possession.

For the first time, authorities have initiated criminal charges against a cyber activist based outside of Azerbaijan by investigating Strasbourg-based activist Elnur Majidli – who was involved with calling for the protests on Facebook – on charges of inciting hatred.

Increased pressure against non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
From February to April 2011, the Azerbaijani authorities stepped up pressure against NGOs working on democracy and human rights issues.

In March 2011, authorities ordered the closure of three NGOs in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja. On 10 March 2011, the Ministry of Justice also ordered the closure of the Human Rights House Azerbaijan. Other Baku-based NGOs have reported increased pressure by authorities, including the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, whose employees have faced surveillance, harassment and detention in recent weeks.

On 16 March 2011, the Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree (no. 43) tightening regulations for foreign NGOs operating in the country.

Violence against journalists and impunity for their attackers
In recent weeks, two journalists have been abducted and beaten in connection with their criticism of the authorities. On 26 March 2011, Azadliq newspaper correspondent Seymur Khaziyev, left, was abducted, beaten, and warned to cease criticism of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. On 3 April 2011, Azadliq newspaper correspondent Ramin Deko was abducted and warned to stop criticising the authorities. He was later attacked and threatened on 4 April 2011.

In virtually no case of violence against journalists over the past six years have the perpetrators been identified and brought to justice, including the March 2005 murder of editor Elmar Huseynov.

The continued wrongful imprisonment of editor Eynulla Fatullayev
Fatullayev has been in prison since April 2007 on a range of politically motivated charges related to his activities as a critical investigative journalist. Rather than complying with a European Court of Human Rights judgment in April 2010 ordering his immediate release, the authorities proceeded with another politically motivated charge of drug possession, for which Fatullayev (below) currently remains wrongfully imprisoned.

The IPGA calls on PACE to take immediate action to address this situation, including:

• Increasing efforts to monitor Azerbaijan’s compliance with its obligations as a Member State of the Council of Europe;
• Including a debate on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan on the agenda for the 20-24 June 2011 PACE session;
• Following up on the recommendations made in Resolution 1750 (2010) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan;
• Calling on the Azerbaijani authorities to fully cooperate with the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan;
• Requesting the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to review the freedom of expression situation in Azerbaijan;
• Calling for the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to enforce Azerbaijan’s execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights;
• Requesting the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake a visit to Azerbaijan to assess the current situation and to follow up on concerns highlighted in the report from his March 2010 visit.

Delegation in Strasbourg
A delegation of members of the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan is in Strasbourg to raise concerns regarding the freedom of expression situation in Azerbaijan during the 11-15 April 2011 PACE session.

The delegation is comprised of representatives from Article 19, the Human Rights House Foundation, Index on Censorship, and the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety.

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