"I think it is unfair to add some military personnel to the sanctions list"

On April 22, the US State Department published an annual report on the state of human rights in the world in 2023.

The section dedicated to Azerbaijan talks about the military operation carried out by Azerbaijan on September 19-20 in Karabakh, as a result of which almost the entire Armenian population left the region, ill-treatment of prisoners, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and media, and the absence of opportunity for people to change their government through free and fair elections.

The document stresses that the Azerbaijani Government has not taken convincing steps to punish officials who committed human rights violations. At the same time, in 2020 and 2022, no reports were submitted on the investigation of the events, which were allegedly committed by the Azerbaijani Army.

The international human rights organization Amnesty International has published its next annual report "The state of human rights in the world in 2024".

The part of the report concerning Azerbaijan talks about how the Armenian population of Karabakh has completely left the region, about the intensification of government attacks on freedom of expression, suppression of protests, repression against independent media and organizations, arrests of journalists and activists.

The report highlights that in Azerbaijan, journalists, media representatives and human rights defenders who criticize the government are facing increasing violence and illegal arrests.

A group of American congressmen plans to submit a bill on the imposition of sanctions against Azerbaijan.

About all this, ASTNA talks with human rights defender Rufat safarov, head of the human rights organization "Line of Protection."

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Question: The annual reports of the U.S. Department of State on human rights issues, as well as the international organization Amnesty International, have been released. Do you consider objective what has been said about Azerbaijan? What do you agree and disagree with in the reports?

Answer: Of course, the current state of human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan is extremely difficult. Restrictions on fundamental freedoms continue to expand, and the policy of repression is deepening. The authorities continue their activities that impede freedom of speech and expression, freedom of the press and information, freedom of assembly, conscience, and movement. The right of a citizen to participate in government is not recognized. In general, people cannot freely participate in the political life of the state and society. Freedom of assembly has been prohibited for 5 years now. With the new media legislation, the position of a journalist has become much more complicated, journalism has become permissive. In order to engage in political activities, permission is also required. The new law "On Political Parties" has significantly limited political organizations. About 300 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience were sentenced for many years.  It has come to the point that an independent journalist is not only slandered, but even an electric current is passed through his body so that he cooperates with the investigation and signs the required false testimony. Believers, especially adherents of the Shiite Tariqa, organized, opposed to the policy, are subjected to even greater repression. Media representatives conducting investigations outside state control and criticizing the authorities, human rights defenders, public and opposition activists are arrested on trumped-up charges. Official Baku rejects democratic governance, state and public institutions of Europe, international obligations assumed under the Pact and the Convention, connects the future of our country with Central Asia, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Turkic States, adjusts its policy to the mood of Moscow.  Imagine, it came to the point that the site supervised by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sputnik.az he publishes defamatory articles about civil society and media representatives beyond the control of the Azerbaijani authorities, names names and, in accordance with this, law enforcement agencies launch criminal prosecutions. What is observed in such conditions? Apparently, official Baku has also abandoned authoritarianism, which has been widely embedded in the foundations of the state and society, and is attempting to transition to dictatorship. That is why the current political and legal situation of Azerbaijan is compared with the Libyan or Syrian realities. There is no doubt that criticism of the policy pursued by the branches of government in Azerbaijan causes the need for international reports, justifies the annual report of the US Department of State, Amnesty International. But I definitely have to make one exception here. If Azerbaijan has forcibly liberated the occupied lands and restored territorial integrity, this is legitimate and fully complies with national and international law. Therefore, if we exclude the part related to Karabakh in the mentioned reports, the raising of problems in the field of human rights and freedoms, I think it is correct.

Question: A group of American congressmen is planning to present a bill on sanctions against Azerbaijan this week. This topic has also caused a lot of discussion. Do you think this step by the United States is fair? Both from the point of view of the sanctions themselves, as well as the list of persons to whom sanctions will be applied.

Answer: The first sanction against an Azerbaijani official was introduced in December 2022. Kerim Alimardanov, an employee of Banditism (the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Combating Organized Crime), whose name appeared in the torture case at that time, was sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act. By the way, the Magnitsky Act was passed in Congress after the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in the Moscow pre-trial detention center. What awaits those who are sanctioned under this act? The United States refuses to issue visas to foreign officials who have used torture, violated international human rights and supported these violations, are involved in corruption, and their assets in the United States are frozen.

For two years, the Azerbaijani authorities have not stopped their harsh human rights policy, preferred persecution and arrests with unprecedented political resonance, and as a result, state and public institutions in the West and Europe had to resort to more serious measures. As a result, PACE was limited some time ago. This was the reason for the restriction of the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE some time ago. A law on imposing sanctions against 40 Azerbaijani officials is now expected to be passed in Congress. I repeat: Such harsh international sanctions were caused by the unaccountable and irresponsible actions of the repressive wing of the Azerbaijani authorities. However, I do not think it is fair that some of our servicemen, such as Hikmet Mirzayev, are subject to international sanctions. I believe that if our military liberated the occupied territories by force many years later, then this was in accordance with the norms of local and international law.

Question: According to experts, in recent years, the content of inaccurate information about the Azerbaijani-Armenian and Karabakh conflicts in such reports, statements from the West, as well as in the latest call for sanctions has raised doubts among the public. Why is the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict or what is happening in Karabakh being added to the issue of human rights in the country? Aren't these different topics?

Answer: Of course, these are separate topics. In all my speeches and notes, I pointed out that the law in Azerbaijan has largely devalued. There is an intolerant attitude towards fundamental freedoms, especially political rights. When forming all three branches of government, the will of society was not taken into account, and the right to vote was buried.  There is a violent method of management, a police regime based on force. If sanctions are applied against officials whose names appear in torture, inhuman treatment, degrading behavior, and major corruption cases, then this does not contradict national and international legislation. But I cannot accept that high-ranking military personnel who mobilize their forces to liberate the occupied lands have been sanctioned, because, as already mentioned, this is an injustice.

Question: Why do such situations arise? Is it because of ignorance, because of exposure to the influence of Armenians, or because of completely different goals?

Answer: I don't think that absence of information played a role here. In my opinion, this is the result of the activities of the Armenian community in the United States ...

Question: There are opinions that usually when there are calls for sanctions, the authorities launch a wave of arrests. However, this time, on the day of the sanctions appeal, Gubad Ibadoglu was transferred to house arrest, which gave hope that the authorities could go for mitigation. What do you think will happen?

Answer: Of course, if there are circles in power that think rationally, then they should influence the general policy, stop the current repressive actions that strike at the image of our country, and launch political and legal reforms.  It is necessary to pay attention to the calls of the West and Europe to abandon harsh domestic policies and draw conclusions. It should be borne in mind that the persistent continuation of violence may provoke more serious international measures and isolation. In any case, I hope that the ruling circles have taken into account the seriousness of the appeals and have chosen a preventive measure against Professor Gubad Ibadoglu that is not related to arrest.

Question: What steps should be taken to improve the human rights situation in the country?

Answer: It is necessary to listen to criticism and start an open dialogue. The policy should be implemented in the spirit of respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizens, which, in particular, are enshrined in Chapter 3 of the Constitution.