"Caviar bomb" blows up

Human rights  for sale – this is the title  of the  report "Caviar Diplomacy 2", exposing the official Baku for the bribery of European MPs, made public on 17 December.

 Two days after the Azerbaijani authorities kept silence  not knowing what to say.  The main hero of the  report, a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament and PACE delegation Elkhan Suleymanov, also avoids meeting with the press. .

So, the organization of ESI -European Stability Initiative, says that the Council of Europe standards  have been undermined thank to the efforts of Azerbaijan, Russia and others who with the help of  money bribe  Europeans to lobby their interests. Corruption has become a main tool of foreign policy of Azerbaijan and other countries with similar regimes.

In 2012, the  ESI published a report on "Caviar Diplomacy", where was disclosed this mechanism and has caused a lot of noise. However, since then nothing has changed. For many Western politicians black caviar and expensive carpets, Vertu phones and jewelry  have become stronger  than the European standards and values​​.

But the most powerful mechanism  has become money  transferred  to some European leaders by  anonymous companies. Such accusations have caused discontent of the Azerbaijani side, which vehemently denied the accusations. The member of the Azerbaijani delegation Elkhan Suleymanov most of all expressed his indignation, accusing the Council of Europe of undermining the foundations of  its rules, and a desire to cast a shadow over his government.

This time ESI presented more substantive proof of its allegations, including the activities of those who  so actively denies corruption. One of the tamed European deputies  is  the  Italian Luca Volonte, who visited Azerbaijan and received generous cash transfers for several years. Among those involved in the recruitment Volonte as a lobbyist for the interests of the Azerbaijani authorities, the report called the name of Elkhan Suleymanov, as well as other MP - Muslum Mammadov.

In 2012, in Baku Volonte presented his ideas on how to raise the image of Azerbaijan. Later  the police of  found in the office of  Volonte documents confirming the amount of remittances from different countries, the sources of which were Elkhan Suleymanov and Muslim Mamedov.

In 2011, Suleymanov  instructed Volonte  to launch a campaign of criticism Kristopher Strasser for his report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Currently the police  is studying Volonte’s correspondence with the Azerbaijani deputies  which openly testifies  the  bribery  of Volonte, and that he carried out direct orders by supervisors from Baku.

Thanks to the "good" work  of Volonte, Strasser's report in PACE   was rejected. Except Volonte, in  Baku actively worked the Spanish MP Pedro Agramunt, who was also  blackmail Strasser’s report and, in general, the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

The ESI report published texts  of correspondences of the  Azerbaijani MPs and several other deputies of PACE from different countries on  the same theme.  They strongly defended the position of official Baku in PACE on the issue of denial of human rights violations.

The report cites evidence  how   voted these deputies and members of their groups on various issues and resolutions. So,  Strasser's report opposed all 18 members of the Russian delegation, 10 Turks, Spaniards 9 (including Agramunt), 9 Italians,  majority  of British (7), Ukrainians (7) and French (7).

 Over four years of  cooperation  to Volonte’s account were transferred about 2, 5 million Euros, and this attracted the attention of prosecutors, who questioned Volonte, and he could not give an explanation.

In March 2015 the police raided the office of  Volonte and seized all electronic media. In February 2016 he was charged with corruption and money laundering.

On November 21 broadcaster RAI showed a documentary film,  in  which  the case of  Volonte and  his  cooperation with the authorities of Azerbaijan  was  described in detail.

 In the film Volonte himself admitted where, by whom and for what he received the money.

Thanks to these deputies  the authorities in Baku  launched in 2014 an unprecedented wave of repression against civil society, arresting dozens of people and liquidated 40 NGOs, including foreign ones.

Hiding behind the failure of Strasser's report, official Baku quoted the decision of the Council of Europe that  there are not political prisoners in Azerbaijan, and refused to carry out the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

In conclusion, the report suggested the requirement to include the agenda of the PACE January session the question of the activities of  Suleymanov and Volonte, and give assessment to it, suspend the deputy powers of  Suleymanov and Mammadov, as well as deprive the delegation of Azerbaijan the right to vote.

 It is necessary to return to the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, and once again put to the vote the report of Strasser, or appoint a new rapporteur on this issue.

The prosecutor's offices in France, Spain, Germany and other countries should investigate the facts of bribery of deputies of these countries by Azerbaijan, reads the ESI report. -02D-