PACE calls for rehabilitation of all defendants in"Terter case"

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called for strengthening measures to combat tortures in the organisation's member-states, noting in particular the systematic use of tortures in Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey.

PACE At the organisation's winter session in Strasbourg the PACE adopted a resolution "Statements on systematic tortures and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in places of detention in Europe", which was based on a report by Cypriot MP Constantinos Efstathiou.

"The Council of Europe must enforce the absolute prohibition of tortures and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Persons in detention are in a vulnerable situation and the states have an obligation to protect their physical well-being and to take responsibility for any injuries caused," the Council of Europe said in a press release.

The parliamentarians strongly condemned the "systematic or widespread use of tortures and other forms of ill-treatment" in states such as Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, the release further said.

The Assembly is deeply concerned about reports concerning Azerbaijan, in particular the "appalling" tortures in the "Terter case". "Many of the defendants in this case detained in 2017 were subjected to tortures and inhuman treatment, with 10 confirmed deaths as a result of these tortures. Detainees were tortured to extract "confessions of treason," the text of the resolution stated.

While some of those detained and initially convicted have now been acquitted and released, others remain in prison. "In addition to the 'Terter case', some reports indicate that tortures and other forms of ill-treatment were used against members of the political opposition, journalists and human rights defenders," the document further emphasised.

The Assembly called on Azerbaijan to ensure that all perpetrators, high-ranking officials and state bodies responsible for the use of tortures in the "Terter case" are brought to justice. It is also required to ensure the payment of compensation and rehabilitation of all victims, including by cancelling convictions based on confessions obtained under tortures.

The PACE also recommended that Russia (the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe terminated Russia's membership in the organisation on 16 March 2022), Azerbaijan and Turkey, "address the root causes of the problem, implement systemic changes aimed at eradicating abuses and unlawful practices".

Despite the fact that the powers of Azerbaijan's delegation to the PACE were limited on 24 January, the country remains in the Council of Europe and the recommendations of this structure are subject to implementation.

* In May-July 2017, at least 450 people - military and civilian - were detained and subjected to inhuman treatment and tortures in military units stationed in Terter and a number of other regions.

Recall that 10 military personnel were tortured to death as a result of tortures. Most of the detainees were prosecuted under Article 234.1 (illegal drug trafficking), some under Article 228.1 (illegal arms trafficking) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and received short prison sentences.

Some 30 people were sentenced to long prison terms on charges of "state treason".

Following the publicising of the torture cases, the General Prosecutor's Office updated the investigation in 2021. As a result, at the end of 2022, 20 people convicted of "state treason" were acquitted.  Also, 16 people convicted not for state treason but under other articles of the Criminal Code were acquitted. Another 13 people were previously acquitted by a decision of the military prosecutor's office in 2018.

However, 10 defendants of the "Terter case" still remain in prison and their relatives and human rights activists are seeking a review of the cases and the release of the convicts.

Independent experts believe that the mass arrests of military and civilians on charges of "state treason" and in particular "service to Armenians" were initiated by some high-ranking generals to justify their failure to fulfil combat missions during the April 2016 escalation in Karabakh.

Victims of the "Terter Case" maintain that not all generals responsible for the repression have yet been brought to justice.