![]() ![]() When Azerbaijan became a Council of Europe member in 2001, one of the commitments to which it agreed was the release of all political prisoners and an end to silencing its critics by prosecuting them on politically motivated charges. The Interior Ministry has denied the allegations. Benenyarli's lawyer told Human Rights Watch that Benenyarli has several bruises on her head and has had headaches and vomiting as a result. ![]() Among them was Kemale Benenyarli, whom police struck several times on the head as they questioned her. Courts fined 12 of them and sentenced 5 to misdemeanor jail terms of 15 to 30 days. In a recent example on May 6, 2014, police in Baku violently dispersed a peaceful crowd of about 200 who had gathered at the courthouse in support of the eight youth activists sentenced that day. He is on trialon trumped-up charges ranging from tax evasion to abuse of office.Īzerbaijani authorities severely limit freedom of assembly and use force to disperse any unsanctioned protests. In December 2013, police arrested Anar Mammadli, chairman of Azerbaijan's leading independent election monitoring group. In April Rauf Mirgadirov, anoutspoken reporter and commentator, was arrestedin Baku's international airport after he was unlawfully deported from Turkey and is facing treason charges. The circumstances of the criminal investigations and numerous violations in legal proceedings leave little doubt that the charges against these critics are bogus and intended to punish them for their independent activism and criticism of the authorities, Human Rights Watch said.Īmong those imprisoned are eight youth political activists sentencedon May 6, 2014, to prison terms ranging from six to eight years five young men whose trials are ongoing or pending who administered or blogged actively on Facebook pages that sharply criticized the government Ilgar Mammadov, a prominent political analyst who intended to run for president in 2013 and Tofig Yagublu, deputy chair of the opposition political party Musavat, both of whom in March 2014 were sentenced to seven and five years, respectively, in prison and Yadigar Sadigov,an adviser to Musavat,sentenced to six years in prison on January 14. ![]() In its September 2013 report "Tightening the Screws: Azerbaijan's Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent," and in 35 follow-up interviews and other research since then, Human Rights Watch documented the authorities' use of a range of criminal charges, including drug and weapons possession, incitement to violence, hooliganism, tax evasion, and even treason. In the past two years, Azerbaijani authorities have brought or threatened unfounded criminal charges against at least 38 political activists, journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders, most of whom are behind bars. MEKHMAN KARIMOV ATTORNEY FREE"The Council of Europe's leadership should make clear to Azerbaijan that it needs to free unjustly imprisoned government critics and undertake far-reaching rights reform." "The Council of Europe is the region's foremost human rights body, but Azerbaijan's chairmanship comes at a time when the government is blatantly flouting the organization's core standards," said Giorgi Gogia, senior South Caucasus researcher at Human Rights Watch. Azerbaijan will assume the rotating chairmanship of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers on May 14, 2014, following years of relentless crackdown on criticism. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.Īzerbaijanfalls far short of Council of Europe membership commitments, even as it assumes chairmanship of the organization. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Human Rights Watch, Azerbaijan: New Arrests, Convictions of Critics, , available at: ![]()
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