NCDF Calls on Authorities Not to Use Pandemic to Reprisal Opponents

Baku / 05.04.20 / Turan: While the attention of governments and societies around the world is focused on combating the Corona Virus pandemic, repression against the political opposition and other critics of the government continues in Azerbaijan. In this sense, Azerbaijan is among the 2-3 odious regimes that use the pandemic to punish political opponents, the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) said in a statement on April 4.

It recalls that on March 19, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, on the occasion of the Novruz holiday, declared the opposition “enemies” and stated that he was isolating opponents of power from society by imposing a state of emergency to combat the Corona Virus.

Law enforcement authorities immediately took Aliyev’s statement as a guide to action.

Three days after the head of state’s speech, on March 22, a prominent political figure of the Azerbaijani opposition, a member of the NCDF Coordination Center, a former prisoner of conscience Tofig Yagublu, was arrested on trumped-up charges of hooliganism. He faces imprisonment of up to 7 years.

On March 30, human rights activist and journalist Elchin Mammad was arrested on trumped-up charges of theft.

Shortly before his arrest, Elchin Mammad prepared and distributed a report on the depressing human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

An activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Anar Melikov and a member of the Muslim Unity Movement Anar Babayev were subjected to administrative arrests for periods of 10 and 30 days respectively on false charges. The democratic public has called them "prisoners of the Corona Virus" for Melikov was arrested after he wrote about poor conditions in quarantine zones, and Babayev handed out masks for protection against infection to the population free of charge.

Another citizen, Intigam Bayramov, was sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest for criticizing the country's leadership. Bayramov earned his living by collecting plastic containers at landfills for sale. On the eve of his arrest, he criticized the leadership in a video message directly from the landfill.

The PFPA activist, father of three children, Aghil Humbatov, who also collected plastic and cardboard items for sale, was imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for criticizing the regime.

Three days later he was released. However, he repeatedly criticized the authorities and spoke about the terrifying conditions of detention of patients in the mental hospital.

After that, Humbatov was again imprisoned in a mental hospital.

Attempts by the government to silence critical voices by arrests continued during March even before Aliyev’s speech.

In the first half of March, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement, poet Elvin Muradov, was arrested on charges of illegal arms trafficking for singing in the honor of condemned leaders and activists of this organization.

A Karabakh war veteran Araz Guliyev was administratively arrested in the city of Shirvan for 30 days after criticizing the country's leadership and tearing his ticket of a member of the ruling New Azerbaijan party.

Criminal cases on far-fetched charges were instituted against PFPA activists Tazakhan Miralamli and Alizamin Salayev.

“The above shows that, using the situation with the global pandemic, the Azerbaijani government wants to strengthen the authoritarian and repressive regime in the country and completely silence the opposition and critics. Apparently, the government is confident that the democratic world community will not be able to pay attention to this reactionary process in Azerbaijan during the current global crisis, and public discontent under the quarantine regime will not result in public protests,” the statement says.

The NCDF strongly condemns “such inhuman and anti-popular behavior of the authorities” and demands that they immediately abandon this policy, release those arrested and, in general, end the persecution and threats of critics of the regime. The NCDF calls on the government of Ilham Aliyev not to lose a sense of responsibility and to recognize the consequences of increased hatred and anger of the people against them.    -06D-