"In a country where there are political prisoners, courts cannot be independent" - Intigam Aliyev

Baku / 05.04.19 / Turan: Intigam Aliyev, the head of the Legal Education Society, is skeptical about the presidential decree on deepening judicial and legal reforms of April 3.

First, you need to carry out real reforms, then to deepen them. However, similar decrees and programs have always been, but, lead to nothing. Such an opinion in an interview with the Cetin Sual (Difficult Question) program of the Turan agency was expressed by the head of the Legal Education Society Intigam Aliyev.

"There are no reforms in the country, and there can be no talk of deepening them," said the expert.

For reform, there must be no decrees, but real will.

"Real will requires a number of institutions in the country. It is primarily about free elections, separation of powers, ensuring pluralism and other issues. If this is not possible something to deepen. How can we deepen what things that do not exist," continued Intigam Aliyev.

According to him, if there are no free elections, there cannot be independent parliament and an independent judiciary.

In addition, this requires the functioning of a free media, a free civil society.

"If journalists are not allowed to litigate, and if they are allowed, they are forbidden to write about them and even keep notes, I'm not talking about video and audio recordings, and then what publicity can we talk about. If all this is not ensured, the new decree, like the previous ones, will remain on paper," considers Intigam Aliyev.

In his opinion, if the government wants the courts to be fair, then it must put an end to the pressure on the courts, stop illegal, politically motivated arrests.

According to Intigam Aliyev, the case of Bayram Mammadov, who was arrested again two weeks after pardon, and tortured, once again confirmed that he had received instructions from the country's leadership.

"In this sense, in countries where there are political prisoners, the courts cannot be independent. If there are political prisoners, then there is pressure on the courts. Therefore, the new decree is the continuation of old fairy tales," Intigam Aliyev believes.

He also touched on the status of the Bar.

If the Bar Association is recommended to strengthen measures to prevent non-procedural relations of lawyers with judges and representatives of the bodies carrying out criminal prosecution, then this in itself is an indicator of the state of the bar and the rule of law in the country.

"This is also a recognition of corruption in the judicial system. For many years, it was denied. Now it is recognized at the level of the president ... Not the lawyers are guilty, but the system itself. Guilty control system, dirty judges, the courts. Lawyers are mediators.

Under the current system, if a lawyer does not give a bribe, then someone else will do it. For everyone knows that no one is punished for receiving bribes by judges and for giving bribes in this country," Intigam Aliyev concluded in conclusion. -16D06-