Practice of Arrest on False Charges Should Be Ended - D.Gogia

Baku / 02.02.19 / Turan: The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) is pleased with removal of the new fabricated charge from blogger Mehman Huseynov. However, this does not justify the continuation of his imprisonment. It is illegal, since Mehman Huseynov was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment on a false defamation charge. This opinion was expressed by the deputy director of HRW for Europe and Central Asia, George Gogia, in an interview with the Azerbaijani service of Voice of America.

According to him, HRW documented how he was abducted, how he was treated by the police and his public statement and the actions of the authorities, who instead of investigating this arrested the blogger himself and convicted on such a false accusation as "insulting the whole police".

HRW believes that M.Huseynov should be released immediately and fully rehabilitated.

"And not only he. Prisons contain many others. This is not the first time that new trumped-up charges are used against critics of the government to keep them in prisons," Gogia continued.

In particular, he pointed to the case of the activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Mammad Ibrahim, who a few days before the end of his sentence was presented a new false accusation of illegal knife possession and was sentenced to another 5.5 months of imprisonment.

Authorities must put an end to this practice and release all those who were convicted on false charges.

How much did the hunger strike and the action of solidarity with other activists and political prisoners affect the decision of the authorities?

Answering this question, Gogia refrained from unequivocal assessments.

At the same time, he stressed that the blogger was prompted to the desperate step by the hopelessness of the situation in which he found himself in connection with the nomination of an openly trumped-up accusation involving up to 7 years in prison.

From the point of view of humanity, the act of a blogger can be justified, the human rights activist believes.

"However, to induce the authorities to respect his right, no one should damage his health," said Gogia.

In his opinion, a number of factors influenced the authorities' withdrawal of the charges against the blogger.

"Regardless of the solidarity shown both domestically and abroad, Baku received a clear message. And it was very important for the international community to demonstrate unanimity in evaluating the case of Mehman Huseynov. This was important, and this message was heard in Baku. We were worried and happy for Mehman. But unfortunately, he is still under arrest and should be released. In addition to him, there are other activists in prison who are arrested for political reasons. There is nothing to justify their arrests. The only thing the authorities have to do is to free them and allow them to continue their activities without hindrance," said Gogia.

First of all, those who have been imprisoned for many years should be released.

At the same time, Gogia personally named the youth activist Ilkin Rustamzadeh, who has been in prison for almost six years.

At the same time, he recalled that the authorities had previously released prisoners, but under conditions that limited their political, social and civic activities.

According to him, Azerbaijan should fully comply with international obligations in the field of human rights.

"We and other members of the international community urge Baku to take the right steps," Gogia continued.

HRW believes that the authorities should also release dozens of people arrested for 10-30 days for participating in protests demanding freedom for political prisoners.

In general, according to Gogia, the human rights situation in Azerbaijan remains depressing.

"Azerbaijan is increasingly becoming a country closed to international monitoring. Azerbaijan is among the very few countries where representatives of Human Rights Watch cannot come. For example, Uzbekistan, which did not allow visiting this country for a number of years, has already allowed Human Rights Watch to return and continue working. However, for three years now Azerbaijan, without any explanation, or indication of legal reasons, does not allow me and my colleagues to come to the country. The last time I tried to come to Azerbaijan was in November last year. However, they kept me at the border for several hours and returned me back without any explanation or presentation of decisions," Gogia said.

According to him, Human Rights Watch is most worried about the practice of politically motivated arrests.

Torture is also a concern.

The latest report of the Committee against Torture of the Council of Europe notes that torture in Azerbaijan is becoming systematic and regular.

The organization is also concerned about the sanctions against lawyers, and their removal from work.

For many years, restrictions on media freedom have been a matter of concern.

We are talking about the arrests of journalists, blocking sites, etc.

"We hope that Azerbaijani officials will take this seriously and start releasing those arrested for political reasons, and will open the country for international monitoring," Gogia said. -06D--