Human rights in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Azerbaijan
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Despite being a member of such bodies as the Human Rights Council and Council of Europe, several independent bodies, such as Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly criticized the Azerbaijani government for its human rights record.[1][2][3][4] Among other concerns, authorities have been accused of arbitrary arrests,[5] indefinite detentions,[5] severe beatings,[6] torture,[6] and forced disappearances.[7] Despite the existence of independent news outlets, journalists who criticize the government are often severely harassed, imprisoned, and even physically assaulted.[8] In the 2013-14 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Azerbaijan ranked 160th out of an overall total of 180 nations.[9] President Ilham Aliyev, inherited power from his late father Heydar Aliyev, who maintained an extensive cult of personality. Ilham Aliyev has often been criticized for failing to improve the situation of civil liberties from his father's policies.[10][11] Public demonstrations against the ruling regime are not tolerated, and authorities often use violence to disperse protests.[12] Since the Aliyev family first took charge in 1993, Azerbaijan has not had a single election deemed "free and fair" by international observers.[13][14][15]

Corruption is considered to be endemic in all areas of Azerbaijani politics.[16][17] The ruling family has aroused suspicion from various independent media outlets for their vast wealth, as evidenced by the purchasing of extensive multimillion-dollar properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[18]

Electoral rights

Although Azerbaijan is nominally a representative democracy, recent elections there have widely been contested as fraudulent and 'seriously flawed.' Azerbaijani media coverage of the election is considered to be overwhelmingly biased in favor of the administration. Also, former President, Heidar Aliyev, is known to have filled the Central and Local electoral commissions with government supporters prior to various key elections since 2003.[19] Azerbaijani non-governmental bodies were also banned from monitoring the vote. Irregular incidents such as voting chiefs running off with the ballots, ballot stuffing, multiple voting, and vote-tampering were recorded by international monitors.

During the 2013 election, an official smartphone app run by the Central Election Commission inadvertently released final election results, a day before voting locations had opened. The results showed Ilham Aliyev having won with 72.76% of the recorded votes, while the nearest opposing candidate, Jamil Hasanli, tallied just 7.4%. The data was recalled, with an official claim is that the app's developer had mistakenly tested the app with 2008 election results, but the data released did not match the voter totals, nor the winning percentages of the 2008 election.[20][21][22]

On 10 October Hasanli called for the results to be annulled due to vote-rigging, claiming the elections were not free and fair because of electoral fraud and government control of all television channels.[23]

Azerbaijan has been harshly criticized for bribing members and officials from international organizations to legitimize the fraudulent elections, a practice which has been termed as "caviar diplomacy".[24][25][26][27] Recently this has been the case with MEPs of the European Parliament, whose positive assessment of Azerbaijani elections sparked a major scandal in Europe.[28][29][30][31] European Stability Initiative (ESI) think tank has published a series of detailed reports exposing the vested interest of the observation missions participating in Azerbaijani elections.[32][33][34]

Freedom of assembly and expression of political beliefs

Up until June 2005, the Azerbaijani people did not enjoy freedom of assembly. The blanket ban on opposition gatherings was lifted after national pressure, but events leading up to parliamentary elections later that year proved this to be merely a nominal change for a very short time. The authorities denied opposition supporters the right to demonstrate or hold rallies in or near any city centres. Those attending opposition rallies that had not been sanctioned by the government were beaten and arrested en masse. Police were known to detain opposition activists, in an attempt to 'convince' them into giving up their political work. Youth movement members and opposition members were detained for conspiring to overthrow the government, a charge that has not been substantiated. After the elections not a single opposition rally was allowed.

According to the Human Rights Watch 2013 report, "Azerbaijan’s record on freedom of expression, assembly, and association has been on a steady decline for some years, but it has seen a dramatic deterioration since mid-2012".[4] In April 2014 RPT-European human rights organization reported that human rights, particularly freedom of expression, assembly and association, are deteriorating in Azerbaijan.[35]

State-authorized violence

In Azerbaijan, torture, police abuse, and excessive use of force are rife. Defendants are often subjected to severe beating to try to coerce a confession, although electric shock, threats of rape, and threats against members of the defendant's family are also used as torture. Torture is less prevalent in post-detention prison facilities, although former inmates have alleged that security forces beat hundreds of prisoners by forcing them to run through a gauntlet, whereby they were beaten with batons. The government have taken no action against torture, or against officials who partake in torture; indeed, Vilayat Eyvazov, the head of the Organized Crime Unit, was named Deputy Interior Minister in 2005.

Political prisoners

International pressure has been exerted on Azerbaijan to release its number of political prisoners. Since joining the Council of Europe, the Azerbaijani government have released one hundred political prisoners, but many remain in custody, and opposition supporters continue to be detained without proof of wrongdoing. A number of Talysh national minority activists including Novruzali Mammadov, Atakhan Abilov, Alikram Hummatov are recognized as political prisoners or refugees by the international organizations.[36][37]

In March 2011, opposition activists Bakhtiyar Hajiyev and Jabbar Savalan were arrested after they helped to organize Arab Spring-style protests through Facebook. Both were given prison terms on unrelated charges. Their arrests were protested by the European Parliament,[38] Human Rights Watch,[38] and Index on Censorship.[39] Amnesty International named both men prisoners of conscience and called for their immediate release.[40][41] Jabbar Savalan was released from prison after 11 months on 26 December 2011.[42] In April 2012, human rights and environmental activist Ogtay Gulaliyev was arrested and allegedly tortured;[43][44] he was released in June.[45] Later on in 2013, seven young activists, including four board members, of Nida Civic Movement were kidnapped and arrested after the protests held against the non-combat military deaths in March and April in Baku.[46][47][48] They are charged with preparing the riots during the protests in Baku. Initially, the young people were charged with illegal possession of weapons and drugs.[49] As reported by International human rights organization Amnesty International, some of the eight activists of NIDA, who were arrested on false charges (including 17-year-old Shahin Novruzlu), were tortured.[50] Amnesty International recognized all the arrested young men as prisoners of conscience.[51]

Freedom of the media

Azerbaijan is ranked 'Not Free' by Freedom House in its annual Freedom of the Press survey with a score of 79 out of 100.[52] The three broadcasting stations BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, which were the only ones that ensured political pluralism for its citizens, are banned in Azerbaijan since 2009.[53]

The authorities use a range of measures to restrict freedom of the media within the country. Opposition and independent media outlets and journalists have their access to print-houses and distribution networks limited, or can find themselves facing defamation charges and crippling fines and are subject to intimidation tactics, including imprisonment on fabricated charges.[54]

Most Azerbaijanis receive their information from mainstream television, which is unswervingly pro-government and under strict government control. According to a 2012 report of the NGO "Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS)" Azerbaijani citizens are unable to access objective and reliable news on human rights issues relevant to Azerbaijan and the population is under-informed about matters of public interest.[55]

Azerbaijani authorities have imprisoned several notable journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists has stated the charges against many journalists are "fabricated" and "politicized".[56] At the end of 2014, eight journalists remained behind bars.[57] International instances such as the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe have consistently refuted the justifications by the Azerbaijani authorities that jailed journalists had been prosecuted and sentenced for common crimes.[58] Prison conditions for journalists are reported as dire, with routine ill-treatment and denial of medical care.[57] More than 10 journalists remain in jail in Azerbaijan by the end of 2015. They include:[59]

Illegal evictions

According to Human Rights Watch, beginning in 2008, as part of the urban renewal campaign in Baku, thousands of homeowners were evicted from their houses in many parts of the city to make way for parks, business centres and elite residential areas. The process was engineered by the Mayoralty of Baku and was often carried out without proper warning. The compensations offered were well below the market value. The residents also felt they had few options to win a case in court if they filed a lawsuit. In some cases, demolitions continued regardless of court orders prohibition to do so.[60] Forced evictions worsened in 2011, after Azerbaijan won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, and with it, the right to host the 2012 one. These evictions angered many people, and were well exposed in the press, after hundreds were turfed out for Crystal Hall to be built.

According to the head of the Institute of Peace and Democracy Leyla Yunus, 60,000 people were deprived of their property contrary to the Constitution of Azerbaijan between 2009 and 2012. She expressed doubts in this problem ever being solved as "mafia stands behind this whole activity." In her opinion, the number of instances of illegal property deprivation is so high that civilians cannot keep up with the record, and the process is likely to follow the model of the 1920s Soviet nationalization policy.[61]

2011 European Parliament resolution

On 12 May 2011, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Azerbaijani "human rights violations" and "oppression of opposition forces".[62] The resolution mentioned concern for Eynulla Fatullayev, Jabbar Savalan, and other prisoners by name, as well as general concern for the "increasing number of incidents of harassment, attacks and violence against civil society and social network activists and journalists in Azerbaijan".[62]

Situation in Nakhchivan

Human rights are considered exceptionally poor in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, dubbed "Azerbaijan's North Korea" by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in 2007.[63] An autonomous republic under the governorship of Vasif Talibov, concerns have been raised regarding police brutality, impunity, extensive limitations on civil liberties, and corruption.[64][65][66]

Nakhchivan has been described as a "laboratory of repression" in which repressive methods are tested and are then applied on a large scale in the rest of Azerbaijan.[67]

See also

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1995 - Azerbaijan, 30 January 1996, retrieved 4 August 2012
  2. ↑ Amnesty International Report 2002 - Azerbaijan, 28 May 2002, retrieved 4 August 2012
  3. ↑ Freedom in the World — Azerbaijan (2007), Freedom House, 16 April 2007, retrieved 4 August 2012
  4. 1 2 TIGHTENING THE SCREWS. Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent 2013
  5. 1 2 Samuel Blackstone (16 April 2007), "What It's Like To Be A Political Prisoner For 17 Months In A Third World Country", Business Insider, retrieved 5 August 2012
  6. 1 2 Shaun Walker (22 March 2012), "Azerbaijan warms up for Eurovision by torturing musicians", The Independent, retrieved 5 August 2012
  7. ↑ Shaun Walker (6 March 2007), "Azerbaijan warms up for Eurovision by torturing musicians", The Independent, retrieved 5 August 2012, During the year there were at least two reports of politically motivated kidnappings. On March 6 unknown assailants kidnapped opposition newspaper journalist Fikret Huseynli and on September 30 the father of Eynulla Fatullayev, founder of Azerbaijan's most widely read weekly newsmagazine.
  8. ↑ Azerbaijan: Media Freedoms in Grave Danger, Human Rights Watch, 3 May 2012, retrieved 6 August 2012, ...independent and opposition journalists in Azerbaijan are frequently subject to harassment, intimidation, and physical attacks.
  9. ↑ Press Freedom Index 2013/2014, Reporters Without Borders, January 2014, retrieved 6 March 2014
  10. ↑ Azerbaijan anti-censorship petition goes to Houses of Parliament, Index on Censorship, 4 July 2012, retrieved 5 August 2012, ...free speech is not protected in Aliyev’s Azerbaijan.
  11. ↑ Shahin Abbasov (2 December 2010), "Azerbaijan: WikiLeaks Cable Compares Ilham Aliyev to Movie Mafia Bosses", EurasiaNet, retrieved 5 August 2012, His domestic policies... particularly on the 2009 imprisonment of bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade... increasingly authoritarian and hostile to diversity of political views.
  12. ↑ Valerie J. Bunce, Sharon L. Wolchik (30 June 2011), "They Took Everything from Me" - Forced Evictions, Unlawful Expropriations, and House Demolitions in Azerbaijan’s Capital, Cambridge University Press; 1 edition, p. 184, ISBN 978-1-107-00685-0, retrieved 7 August 2012, Opposition leaders… abided by these restrictions when they organized peaceful protests outside of Baku shortly after the November 2005 elections, which drew 20,000 and later 30,000 people. However, participants in authorized demonstrations also suffered intimidation and, on occasion, beatings and detention, as on November 26, 2005, when Lala Shovket and Ali Karimli called on citizens at an approved time period. This demonstration was brutally repressed by the police, and numerous demonstrators were injured.
  13. ↑ Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p357 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
  14. ↑ "Free, Fair, & Regular Elections: Country Studies — Azerbaijan (under heading "The Return to Dictatorship")", Democracy Web, retrieved 6 August 2012
  15. ↑ "Observers criticise Azerbaijan president's re-election". Google News. AFP. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  16. ↑ Azerbaijan Country Profile, Business Anti-Corruption Portal, December 2010, retrieved 6 August 2012, It is widely recognised that corruption is deeply entrenched and institutionalised throughout Azerbaijani society and poses an obstacle to both social and economic development in the country.
  17. ↑ Gregor Peter Schmitz (13 December 2010), "'Boys and Their Toys' - The US Befriends Azerbaijan's Corrupt Elite", Der Spiegel, retrieved 6 August 2012, While a few Azerbaijani clans are getting richer and richer, thanks to all the dollars pouring into the country, the rest of the population is barely scraping by. Over 40 percent of the country's inhabitants are living in poverty; the average monthly income is just €24. As Lala Shevkat, the leader of the Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, says: 'Oil is our tragedy.'
  18. ↑ Andrew Higgins (5 March 2010), "Pricey real estate deals in Dubai raise questions about Azerbaijan's president", The Washington Post, retrieved 5 August 2012, In just two week... an 11-year-old boy from Azerbaijan became the owner of nine waterfront mansions... [valued at] about $44 million... the son of Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev... [whose] annual salary as president is the equivalent of $228,000, far short of what is needed to buy even the smallest Palm property.
  19. ↑ "HRW: Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003 (Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, October 13, 2003)". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  20. ↑ Luhn, Alec (9 October 2013). "Azerbaijan Releases Election Results... Before the Polls Even Open". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
  21. ↑ Fisher, Max (9 October 2013). "Oops: Azerbaijan released election results before voting had even started". The Washington Post.
  22. ↑ Lomsadze, Giorgi (9 October 2013). "Azerbaijan: Election Commission's App Shows Vote Results before the Election". EurasiaNet.
  23. ↑ "Azerbaijan Aliyev: Opponent Hasanli wants vote annulled". BBC News. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  24. ↑ DISGRACED AZERBAIJAN AND THE END OF ELECTION MONITORING AS WE KNOW IT
  25. ↑ Jamie Doward. "Plush hotels and caviar diplomacy: how Azerbaijan's elite wooed MPs". the Guardian. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Europe's caviar diplomacy with Azerbaijan must end". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Baku Smooths Over Its Rights Record With A Thick Layer Of Caviar". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  28. ↑ European MPs' praise for Azerbaijan election sparks row BBC News, 17 October 2013
  29. ↑ MEPs' shameful support for the Azerbaijan election MEPs' shameful support for the Azerbaijan election, EU Observer
  30. ↑ Andreas Gross: Azerbaijan with regressing democracy is patient placed in reanimation ward at Council of Europe Panorama, 25 October 2013
  31. ↑ "Azerbaijan elections - Content - The Greens - European Free Alliance". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  32. ↑ Caviar Diplomacy. How Azerbaijan silenced the Council of Europe was published on 24 May 2012
  33. ↑ A Portrait of Deception Monitoring Azerbaijan or Why Pedro Agramunt should resign
  34. ↑ "Disgraced. Azerbaijan and the end of election monitoring as we know it." 5 November 2013, Berlin
  35. ↑ "RPT-European human rights body says concerned about abuses in Azerbaijan". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  36. ↑ Amnesty International, Concerns in Europe, 2002
  37. ↑ FHRPO: There Are 66 Political Prisoners In Azerbaijan, 2009
  38. 1 2 "Azerbaijan: Activist Sentenced in Political Trial". Human Rights Watch. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  39. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Supreme Court Upholds Bakhtiyar Hajiyev Judgement". Index on Censorship. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  40. ↑ "Azerbaijan must halt crackdown on protest organizers". Amnesty International. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  41. ↑ "AZERBAIJAN ACTIVIST CONVICTED ON 'TRUMPED UP' DRUGS CHARGE". Amnesty International. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  42. ↑ "Jabbar Savalan Freed!". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  43. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Authorities determined to silence dissent to ensure successful Eurovision" (PDF). Amnesty International. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  44. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Arbitrary detention of Mr. Ogtay Gulaliyev". International Federation for Human Rights. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  45. ↑ "Les co-rapporteurs de l'APCE feront leur rapport jusqu'à la fin de cette année". apa.az. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  46. ↑ "3 persons who incited violence and civil confrontation arrested in Baku". Trend. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  47. ↑ 2 more NIDA members arrested
  48. ↑ Zaur Gurbanli of N!DA arrested
  49. ↑ "A trial of the case of members of the civil society movement". CNN iReport. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  50. ↑ Release pro-democracy youth activists in Azerbaijan Amnesty International 8 April 2014
  51. ↑ Downward spiral: Continuing crackdown on freedoms in Azerbaijan, Amnesty International, October 2013 release, p. 16
  52. ↑ Azerbaijan - Freedom House. Freedom House. Retrieved 4 August 2013
  53. ↑ Azerbaijan - Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved 22 February 2013
  54. ↑ 10 Most Censored Countries. CPJ. Retrieved 20 February 2013
  55. ↑ "Semi-annual Azerbaijan freedom of expression report, January 01 – July 01, 2012" (PDF; 3,0 MB). Retrieved 21 February 2013
  56. ↑ "In Azerbaijan, crackdown on press as contest nears". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2 April 2012.
  57. 1 2 Freedom House, Azerbaijan 2015 Press Freedom report
  58. ↑ Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, The Protection of media freedom in Europe.Background report prepared by Mr William Horsley, special representative for media freedom of the Association of European Journalists
  59. ↑ OSCE RFoM
  60. ↑ [Azerbaijan: Rights Abuse Stains International Standing]. IEWY.com.
  61. ↑ "Более 60 тысяч граждан Азербайджана незаконно лишены своей собственности". Echo. 7 February 2012
  62. 1 2 "European Parliament resolution of 12 May 2011 on Azerbaijan". European Parliament. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  63. ↑ "In 'Azerbaijan's North Korea,' Journalist Crackdown Continues". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  64. ↑ "Azerbaijan's Dark Island: Human Rights Violations in Nakhchivan" (PDF). Norwegian Helsinki Committee. February 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  65. ↑ Aliyev, Kenan (8 July 2008). "Jailed For Not Paying A Bribe". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  66. ↑ "Impunity for torture in Nakhchivan". Human Rights house. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  67. ↑ "Journalist beaten unconscious in Azerbaijani exclave - Reporters Without Borders". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
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