"The government will not draw conclusions from the reports or any recommendations"

The US State Department has published its annual report on Human Rights. The part of the report concerning Azerbaijan says:

"Illegal, unauthorized killings, torture, other cruel, inhuman, degrading acts, related abuses, as well as harsh conditions in prisons are taking place in Azerbaijan."

The report of the State Department of Human Rights for 2022 recorded unjustified arrests, political prisoners, politically motivated repression outside the country, the absence of an independent judicial system, illegal violations of privacy, serious restrictions on freedom of speech and the media, and other human rights violations. The report also mentions violence against journalists, harassment and arrests of journalists on the basis of slander and dubious accusations, restrictions on Internet freedom, including blocking websites, de facto prohibition of freedom of peaceful assembly, and serious interference with freedom of association and movement.

The report says that during the year there were cases of violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which resulted in human casualties and arrests.

Bashir Suleymanli, head of the Civil Rights Institute, shared his opinion on the report with ASTNA.

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Question: Is the written in the annual report of the US State Department on Azerbaijan objective?

Answer: The annual report of the US State Department covers the state of human rights in Azerbaijan quite broadly. It reflects serious problems concerning restrictions both in the sphere of political rights and in other spheres.

The State Department notes the following violations of law committed in Azerbaijan: illegal killings committed by security forces; torture, cruel, inhuman, humiliating treatment; severe and sometimes life-threatening prison conditions; illegal arrests; the presence of political prisoners; politically motivated revenge on those living outside the country; problems with the independence of the court; illegal interference in privacy; serious violations during the conflict, including enforced disappearances, torture and other physical violence; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, violence against journalists, criminalization of slander and insults, persecution and arrest of journalists on controversial charges; serious restrictions on Internet freedom, blocking of websites; prohibition of de facto freedom of peaceful assembly, fundamental restriction of freedom of assembly; restrictions on freedom of movement; strict ban on participation in political life; systemic corruption at the state level; police brutality towards individuals due to sexual orientation; serious restrictions on the freedom of association of employees; exploitation of child labor in the worst forms.

Listing all of this together may seem difficult at first glance. Government representatives also complain from time to time about the existence of biased and one-sided information directed against Azerbaijan and do not reject the facts. But this is a generalized chronology of violations that occur in the country during the year. This information is freely distributed in the media and social networks. When you draw the facts from there and summarize them, the real picture appears.

Facts about torture, inhuman treatment and humiliating treatment are regularly disseminated on social networks and become the subject of discussion. Examples include the terrible tortures during the "Terter events", the abduction and torture of Tofik Yagublu, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the distribution of videos with apologies of citizens at the police station, and much more. Such facts and the lack of investigations on them are reflected in the reports.

The problems of politically motivated arrests and the presence of political prisoners are not solved. In recent years, this has been supplemented by the fact that activists living outside the country have been subjected to pressure, extradited to the country, and arrested on false charges.

The problem of the independence of the courts has not yet been solved. Despite a number of presidential decrees in connection with judicial reform, they are not being implemented. Only the compensatory part of the decisions of the European Court is executed. Systemic measures are not being taken against officials who have committed violations, and legislation is not being improved. While the courts make positive decisions on some social issues (pension provision, reinstatement at work, etc.), on political issues we see the opposite. The court makes decisions on political orders.

Serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, violence against journalists, criminalization of slander and insults, harassment and arrest of journalists on controversial charges, serious restrictions on Internet freedom, blocking of websites are still a problem. People are being persecuted, administrative arrests for critical statuses on social networks. It also contributes to the "development" of internal censorship. TV channels, spreading one-sided information, build propaganda for the most part on the basis of the theses of political power. The mass dissemination of alternative ideas by various methods is limited or eliminated. The adoption of the restrictive law "On Media" and the compulsory inclusion of media subjects in the register is one of the forms of control and supervision.

Freedom of peaceful assembly is prohibited de facto. Despite the fact that the law and the Constitution enshrine the right of citizens to peaceful assembly, the Executive Authorities in recent years have unequivocally refused organizations wishing to hold an action, or offer places as far away from the city center as possible. For 3 years now, due to the pandemic, borders have been closed to the free movement of citizens.

The restriction of legislation related to civil society provides for significant interference with freedom of association. For 9 years, NGO laws were restricted, and international organizations were expelled from the country. In 2020, even before the war, there were positive messages that the situation with NGOs would improve, but there was nothing but imitation. Despite the fact that on the basis of the resolution of the European Court of Human Rights there were several decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers, the decision of the Supreme Court on political Affairs, under the conditional name "Mammadli group", has not yet been fully implemented.

Involvement of activists by law enforcement agencies in preventive conversations can be regarded as a form of pressure.

Question: What is new, positive or negative,  in this report comparing with reports from previous years?

Answer: Annual reports are compiled in accordance with the violations that occur in the countries and the adequacy of the attitude towards them. Therefore, they reflect the situation with violations and fundamental human rights that occurred during the year. Events that happened in previous years may not happen in the next one. For example, the violations that occurred during the elections and the clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia were not reflected in the reports for previous years. But in general, the situation can be said to be almost the same. There are no noticeable changes in the attitude towards universal values. Some of the political prisoners are released on pardon, but on the other hand, the persecution continues. They promise that conditions will be created for the activities of political parties, but on the other hand, a restrictive law is being adopted. The same situation is with the media and civil society.

An important part of the report may be the clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia that occurred after the war, the treatment of prisoners of war, and so on.

Question: How seriously has been studied the information about the tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the report?

Answer: The information on this topic is one-sided. We receive only official data from Azerbaijan. We can get something else only after seeing photos and videos leaked to social networks from Armenia or posted by some third party. Therefore, the information we have is based on probabilities and is not reliable. The Government itself should be interested in ensuring that independent human rights organizations and the media, recognized as reliable sources at the international level, can ensure public control. They can at any time (of course with official permission, etc.) go to the territory where the collision occurs and get acquainted with the facts on the spot. This is necessary in order to raise the issue of bringing violators to justice in case of a violation and to provide the public with reliable and alternative information.

For example, when a rocket attack was launched on Ganja, I left Baku at 5 o'clock in the morning and arrived at the scene in Ganja. We took various pictures and spread the facts in international networks. We presented war crimes committed against civilians. Our other colleagues were also able to confirm internationally the bombing of Barda with banned cluster bombs. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have published reports. So far, the Government refers to these reports. However, earlier these organizations were accused of bias, and those who collaborated with them were accused of committing a crime. I think that a transparent investigation should be conducted in connection with what is happening on the border and around it. Media considered reliable sources in international networks and civil society should be monitored. Why should we get information about the events on the border with Armenia from the Armenian service of Radio Liberty?! This allows the Armenian lobby, a strong Armenian civil society represented on international platforms, through international organizations located in their country and free media to spread one-sided information and manipulate facts around the world.

Question: Usually representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities do not agree with critical opinions of this type of reports. Do you think  that the Azerbaijani authorities will react to the recommendations of the report this time?

Answer: I think they will admit that there have been partial violations of human rights and will say that there are such violations all over the world. They will try to confirm their position with examples - "Political arrests are taking place in Armenia, the police are dispersing protesters in France," etc. But even the presence of these facts does not give us the right to boast about the poor state of affairs in the country with human rights. However, I do not think the government will draw conclusions from these reports or any recommendations. To do this, there must be a parliament and a government that considers the people and responds to their calls.

Question: The report says that the government "does not prosecute or punish most officials who violate human rights and commit acts of corruption; impunity remains a problem." What can Azerbaijan expect if the reaction turns out to be normal?

Answer: Yes, this statement is true. I would like to note that some of the violations that appear in the reports in such a pronounced form are associated with impunity. If the officials who committed the violation are severely punished, then the Government will have grounds to present facts about the punishment of those responsible. On the other hand, the rights of citizens are limited by the absence of independent courts. The Court in all political cases make decisions in favor of the presenting state structures.

For example, in Georgia, the court does not decide on the arrest of any person for drug trafficking, even if it is really a drug dealer. The court requires the representatives of law enforcement agencies to present facts and videos that this person is a drug dealer. In our country, the courts can make a decision on the arrest of any person, accusing him of drugs, especially if he is a socio-political activist. We have come across such facts in the case of Giyas Ibrahim and Bayram Mammadov and in other cases.

Of course, continued impunity does not promise positive prospects. If today, for some reason, because of oil and gas, they turn a blind eye to this, it does not mean that it will always be like this. Tomorrow there may be a situation in the world when serious sanctions will be applied to the country, and we will find ourselves in a very difficult situation. The political situation in the world is changing rapidly. The forces that in 2016 did not allow us to pass from one height to another, in 2020 speak about the delimitation of borders with Armenia, about the importance of opening the road to Nakhchivan.

Therefore, we must strengthen the foundations of the state. To do this, it is important to eliminate problems, especially human rights violations.

Question: What would you suggest to the Azerbaijani authorities in connection with what is indicated in the report?

Answer: You can say that I have already offered. But conceptually, I can list some directions necessary to change the situation. First of all, the legislative framework should be improved. The laws "On non-governmental organizations", "On Media", "On political parties", "On domestic violence" should be improved and revised on the basis of the conclusion of the Venice Commission. By the way, we and our colleagues have sent proposals to the Parliament on some of these laws. Restrictions on the activities of international organizations and media in the country should be lifted.

Political prisoners must be released, and political persecution must end. To prevent this, the laws must be tightened. The courts should become independent, a radical judicial reform should be carried out. The suppression of freedom of expression, as well as the selective approach to journalists, must stop. Freedom of assembly must be ensured. It is necessary to create conditions for people to freely express their opinions, dissent, and political pluralism in society.