“Victory Amnesty”: Will it secure justice?

It was expected that 3,000 people would be released from prisons in the process, which was expected to cover 16,000-17,000 people. The time set by law is coming to an end. Can the public regularly monitor how many prisoners are affected by this decision and current information on those released from prisons? How is transparency ensured in this process? In general, are there any significant public discussions on the implementation of this decision?

First, it should be noted that in the simultaneous official statements of the relevant government bodies, inconsistent figures have been spread. Minister of Justice, Fikrat Mammadov, said at a board meeting on December 30 ), “In the past period, more than 2,600 prisoners have been released from penitentiaries under the amnesty, and the sentences of about 950 people have been reduced. As for probation service, more than 4,600 people have been released from various sentences, and the sentences of 182 people have been reduced.” According to official figures, the amnesty covered a total of 8,332 prisoners by the end of December.

Twenty-two days after the announcement of the Minister of Justice, on January 21, 2022, the figures announced at an operational meeting held at the Main Department of the Penitentiary Service under the Ministry were different. So, it was noted that the amnesty act was applied to 3,411 people or 60% of the prisoners affected by the amnesty act. Of them, 2,704 prisoners have been released, the sentences of 707 prisoners have been reduced. Although the minister announced that the sentences of 950 people had been reduced 22 days ago, the Penitentiary Service announced 22 days later that the number was 707. There is a 243-person uncertain difference.

At the January 8 meeting and the January 24 meeting  of the Prosecutor General's Office, Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev said, “A total of 10,943 people have been amnestied during the reporting period. By granting amnesty with the procedural guidance of the prosecutor's office, individuals have been released from sentences or criminal liability or their sentences have been reduced. Of them, 6,049 persons have been affected by the amnesty by the bodies executing the sentences with the consent of the relevant prosecutors, 4,053 persons by courts with the participation of prosecutors, 119 persons directly by the prosecutor's office, 722 persons by other bodies.”

If we pay attention to the dates between the statement of the Prosecutor General (January 8) and the statement of the Penitentiary Service (January 21) and to the figures disclosed, the discrepancy is obvious. Although the information of the prosecutor's office shows that the amnesty applied to more prisoners, a statement from the Penitentiary Service 13 days later denied this.

It should be noted that on November 11, the Ministry of Justice announced at a round table with the participation of the mass media representatives that the implementation of this amnesty act would apply to 5,800 people from the Penitentiary Service and 8,800 people from the Probation Service. Out of 17,000 people, the cases of 15,000 people would be executed by the judicial bodies.

Although the time provided by law is coming to an end, it is impossible to reach real figures in this direction from the open sources available to us.

Unfortunately, either the relevant government bodies disseminate publicly available information unprofessionally or there are serious problems in interaction. In any case, the lack of independent public control over the work of government bodies remains relevant.

Let's move on to another important issue.

The heavy scene regarding human rights and freedoms in the country has been going on for a long time. It is no exaggeration to say that the country is experiencing a legal crisis. Effective mechanisms to protect citizens from the violence of law enforcement are either non-existent or very weak and ineffective.

Since Azerbaijan's independence, the country's parliament has adopted 11 amnesty acts, and the president has signed 67 pardon orders. So far, the amnesty acts have covered a total of 117,770 people, and the pardon orders have covered 8,774 people. Although such acts eliminated the consequences of unfair court decisions on many prisoners, unfortunately, this does not mean the victory of justice in general.

An analysis of the majority of cases in which pardons and amnesties have been applied shows that the current judicial system has serious problems. The legal crisis is mainly due to these problems. At the same time, it is the result of the governance system. To this day, political arrests have been taking place in our country, and the problem of "prisoners of conscience" continues. Such problems not only negatively affect the domestic socio-political situation but also play a role of a source of tension for our country in the international arena.

The decisions of the European Court of Human Rights on complaints from Azerbaijan also clearly show the problems in the judicial system. These decisions confirm that arrests are common in our country due to people's political views and that the decisions of local courts are made with serious shortcomings. It is no coincidence that Azerbaijan is one of the countries with the largest number of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.

Persecution of people for their political views, dubious court decisions not only spoil the socio-psychological environment in the country but also form a negative attitude in the international arena.

The active part of the society rightly did not have high expectations from this amnesty for the solution of the problem of political prisoners. However, some political prisoners were expected to be released based on the provision "Persons who took part in the Patriotic War and other military operations to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan" provided for in Section 1.1 of the first section on the amnesty act.

In particular, Saleh Rustamov, a former chief executive of Gadabay district and a Karabakh war veteran, who was arrested on May 8, 2018, and sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, could have taken advantage of this opportunity. The process is coming to an end but S. Rustamov has not been released yet.

According to the judicial bodies, 359 prisoners were sent for treatment, and they would be released after the treatment process. Saleh Rustamov is currently in hospital as well.

Finally, it should be noted that it is difficult to say that sufficient transparency has been ensured in the implementation of the amnesty act. Although 3 months of the 4-month period specified in the decision has expired, it is still unclear how many prisoners are covered by this decision. At the same time, this decision cannot be taken as a restoration of justice. Because law enforcement agencies are constantly creating new prisoners with dubious decisions. The trust and confidence of the population suffering under the “press clamp” of socio-economic problems on the one hand and legal problems on the other are being shaken due to misgovernance.

Nasimi Mammadli