NCDF Calls on West to Impose Sanctions against Azerbaijani Authorities Due to Practice of Torture in Places of Detention

Baku / 15.08.20 / Turan: The National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) "with great concern and anger" states that recently, torture has begun to be widely used in Azerbaijan against representatives of the political opposition, civil society and ordinary citizens.

“In the 21st century, a country that is a member of the Council of Europe and seeks to establish a strategic partnership with the European Union, the practice of brutal and horrible torture is widespread, and this is used even during a serious pandemic as a means to silence political opponents and critics of the regime,” the statement issued by the NCDF on 15 August says.

Dozens of members of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) were detained after the peaceful rally in support of the army on July 14-15.

In particular, 17 party members were charged with grave crimes and subjected to pre-trial arrest.

Another 18 PFPA activists were sentenced to 30 days of imprisonment in an administrative order.

The procedural rights of all oppositionists brought to criminal and administrative responsibility were grossly violated from the moment of their arrest. None of them had the opportunity to contact their family or meet with a lawyer. As a result, the conditions and whereabouts of the detainees remained unclear for several weeks.

Many detained activists of the PFPA were forced to refuse the services of lawyers hired by their relatives and friends. According to reports from reliable sources, and later confirmed by the detainees themselves, opposition activists were severely tortured and, in order to conceal the facts, they were hindered from telephone conversations with family members and meetings with lawyers.

PFPA activist Seymur Ahmadzadeh, who was charged with three serious crimes, was able to convey information to the public through his family several days later that he had been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture for two days.

Despite reports of brutal torture of one of the PFPA leaders, Fuad Gahramanli, who had previously been a political prisoner three times, his right to meet his family and receive an independent lawyer was not ensured. There is no doubt that Fuad Gahramanli was forced to withdraw his appeal and refuse a lawyer under pressure and blackmail. According to credible sources, in addition to the physical torture he was subjected to, his brother was threatened with arrest on drug charges.

Torture is an instrument of pressure and blackmail, which is regularly used in the practice of the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan, the NCDF said in a statement.

"Undoubtedly, this practice is used as a tried and tested way to stifle the growing discontent of citizens and intimidate society against the backdrop of the deepening socio-economic crisis, corruption and prolonged occupation of Azerbaijani lands and the lack of progress in this direction," the NCDF said in a statement.

PFPA leader Ali Karimli, NCDF members Tofiq Yagublu and Ibrahim Ibrahimli were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during the peaceful protest on October 19, 2019, which was brutally suppressed by the police. Ali Karimli and Tofiq Yagublu were severely beaten by 6-8 police officers in front of cameras for several hours in a row and were asked to pledge to refrain from political activities. Tofig Yagublu was threatened with the murder of his son. As a result of torture, Ali Karimli's head was broken and 9 stitches were applied to his forehead. In general, more than 20 injuries were registered on the body of the PFPA chairman.

Ibrahim Ibrahimli's vocal cords in his throat were torn as a result of the torture. Despite the fact that almost a year had passed since the incident, he was still unable to regain his voice and ability to speak normally.

The facts of torture of PFPA activists have been repeatedly disclosed in various court proceedings. Thus, a member of the PFPA party, Aghil Maharramli, who was arrested on false charges of "money laundering", was beaten with electric current and tortured until he lost consciousness. Another PFPA activist, Niyamaddin Ahmedov, was tortured with electric shocks in order to obtain confessions until he started bleeding from his kidneys.

The statement also cites facts of torture on PFPA activists, Babek Hasanov, a disabled second group, a former investigator of the prosecutor's office, public activist Rufat Safarov, and others.

“Recently, photographs were published on social networks showing that citizens were naked and were subjected to physical and psychological torture and humiliation in a police facility. Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the photographs were not taken in Azerbaijan and the persons in the photographs were not citizens of the country, however, it soon became possible to successfully confirm the place of torture in Azerbaijan and the identity of the victims,” the NCDF statement said.

In the early morning of June 8, 2020, employees of the Rapid Response Regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, without a court decision or other legal grounds, broke into the apartments of citizens living in the Yasamal district, and lifted the people out of bed in a semi-naked form in front of family members and neighbors. “Not content with this immoral and illegal act of violence, the police released a video of their physical and mental torture and degrading treatment on social networks,” the NCDF said in a statement.
The authors of the document state with regret that the Azerbaijani Ombudsman Institute does not participate in the prevention of these tortures against Azerbaijani citizens, political activists and civil society.

The same can be said for the Bar Association, which, instead of working with people facing injustice, has turned into an administrative punishment mechanism and has recently played an exceptional role in covering up torture and lawlessness.

The Baku office of the International Committee of the Red Cross does not respond promptly and adequately to the facts of torture in Azerbaijan and does not visit people suffering from torture on time, the authors of the statement state with regret.

The NCDF appeals to the people of Azerbaijan, the democratic world, international media, the UN, OSCE, EU, European Parliament, with an appeal “not to close our eyes to the facts of systematic, continuous, consistent torture in Azerbaijan”, “not to allow degrading behavior” to become the daily practice of Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies. "

“The UN Committee against Torture, the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and other relevant bodies should openly and loudly protest against the use of torture in Azerbaijan as a form of “treatment” with the political opposition and critics of the UN authorities, and PACE should appoint a special rapporteur on increasing torture in Azerbaijan,” the statement further says.

The NCDF also calls on the US and the European Union to introduce "broad and targeted sanctions against the repressive Azerbaijani regime, which is already becoming a tough dictatorship, as soon as possible."

It should be noted that the Azerbaijani authorities reject allegations of torture in places of detention. -06D-