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“Government officials and police are the worst violators of citizens’ rights. Chairmen of courts and mayors turn a blind eye to complaining people coming to see them. Moreover, there are problems with state registration of legal entities, including NGOs in the country. My appeals to the Justice Ministry over such complaints remain unattended for months”, said Ombudsman (Human Rights Commissioner) Elmira Suleymanova (photo) while presenting her annual report to the parliament.  (4-APR-2005)

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev (photo) issued a decree on pardon on the occasion of spring holiday Novruz on 19 March 2005. A total of 115 convicts have been pardoned, of which 114 ones have been freed from jail and the sentence term of one convict has been halved. Among the pardoned there are 53 convicts, who were considered political prisoners by the Council of Europe. The pardoning decree came four days after the Council of Europe, warned the Azeri government that its membership in the organization could be jeopardized if the prisoners were not released. (23-MAR-2005)

Transparency International (TI), the leading anti-corruption movement all over the globe has released its Global Corruption Report on 2004, rating Republic of Azerbaijan 140th among 146 countries on level of corruption. This index shows that there have been no principal positive changes in field of corruption prevention in the Republic of Azerbaijan, as it again appeared to be among the most corrupted world countries. (18-MAR-2005)
 

“We are profoundly saddened and angered by   the murder of Elmar Huseinov” said Agnes Callamard, Executive Director   of ARTICLE 19. “He was a man and a journalist of great courage and   commitment. Today, the media in the Republic of Azerbaijan has lost an important critical  voice.” ARTICLE 19 is particularly  concerned with the increasing climate of intolerance against the media,   and with the failure of the Republic of Azerbaijan authorities to put an end to these   attacks.  (4-MAR-2005)

Elmar Huseynov, the well-known journalist and the chief editor of opposition-minded MONITOR journal was killed brutally at the entrance of his apartment on Wednesday at around 9:00 pm. Monitor, is a Russian-language weekly and socio-political magazine and critical of the government.  The attack appears to have well planned and orchestrated. To light at the   entrance of the apartment building was not working, and that several   telephones in the area had been disconnected at the time of the shooting. (4-MAR-2005)

Corruption is one of the most serious and unsurmountable problem of transitional period of Azerbaijan. “The OSCE intends to assist Republic of Azerbaijan in fighting corruption”, head of the OSCE office in Baku Mauricio Pavesi told a roundtable, “Government agencies combating corruption”, organized by Republic of Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union (AYLU). In a recent survey conducted by the OSCE office in Baku among over a thousand people, 87% of respondents indicated the high corruption level in the Republic of Azerbaijan. (25-FEB-2005)

A dozen refugees from war-torn the Chechen Republic staged a hunger strike in the Azeri capital Baku demanding that the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) upgrade their status on wednesday, AFP reported.  The UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) Baku office has registered over 10,000 refugees from the Chechen Republic, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 8,500 of these asylum seekers are from Chechnia. (24-FEB-2005) 

20-year-old Algait Maharramov, sentenced to three years for participation in post-election disturbances of October 2003, has died in the colony No 17. ?The situation in the prisons of Republic of Azerbaijan is the absolute mirror of all the events taking place in our country right now ? strange, unexplained, uncommented and absurd. The tragic death of Maharramov in prison has coincided with the period, when there started a series of protest actions in a number of penal colonies of Republic of Azerbaijan. The protests are for reforms and changes in the custodies, against the beatings, torture, malnutrition and injustice by the prison administration? says local human rights activist Shahla Ismayilova (picture). (22-FEB-2005)

Republic of Azerbaijan Republic since becoming a member of Council of Europe has taken obligation concerning the implementation of anti-corruption measures in the country, where is gravely lurching in corruption. “Corruption is one of the most unsurmountable, poignant and delicate problems of our country. Republic of Azerbaijan, as one of the countries in transition, where democracy and rule of law have not been fully established, suffers from corruption, which impedes its economic development and intensifies social inequality” says Nadir Adilov, the chairman of the Republic of Azerbaijan Young Lawyers Union (AYLU). (22-FEB-2005)