Political will is needed to improve the human rights situation

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Question:  By the decision of the Baku  Serious Crimes Court, PFPA activist Agil Humbatov was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Baku Court of Appeal did not satisfy the appeal of Tofig Yagublu,  asking for the permission to cross the Georgian border to visit his mother's grave and take part in her funeral ceremony. Many activists have also been arrested in recent days. What's happening? Why do courts rule decisions that violate human rights?

Answer: There is nothing new here. This process has been going on for many years. Human rights problems have existed in the country for many years. People are constantly persecuted, trampling on fundamental freedoms. Courts, passing custom-made decisions, sentence citizens to imprisonment. It can subside at times. If the international situation and the interests of the government itself contribute to this. However, the general trend remains unchanged. The authorities do not want to abandon punitive mechanisms in relation to alternative thinkers, do not want to respect the constitutional rights of citizens. This requires political will, which, apparently, is not enough.

Question: Former head of the Executive Power of Gadabay region Saleh Rustamli, who is under arrest, has been on hunger strike for 10 days. But there is no reaction to this. Why isn't Saleh Rustamli released? Who will be responsible if something happens to him?

Answer: It is obvious that violations against Saleh Rustamli are committed with the aim of intimidation. They make it clear that anyone, someone who tries to support the opposition in one way or another, will be severely punished. No past achievements will be taken into account. However, these political decisions create serious violations of the law. Governments should refrain from using harsh methods of dealing with their opponents. Since, this undermines the normal system of relations in society and lays the foundation for negative trends. Increases desire for revenge. Without a doubt, the hunger strike of a political prisoner is a serious phenomenon. The political authorities must respond to this and take immediate steps to free him. Do not wait for negative consequences. It will not pay dividends to anyone. Taking this opportunity, I appeal to the authorities with a request to urgently take steps to release Saleh Rustamli.

Question: The campaign of persecution of the social and political activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev continues. Last weekend, he was summoned and interrogated at the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. What is the reason for this? What do they want from Bakhtiyar Hajiyev?

Answer: The campaign of persecution of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev has been going on for a long time. He was arrested and then forced to leave the country for a while. The process now continues in a different form. Most likely, they cannot digest his harsh criticism. They want to somehow neutralize him, to make him mortally tired of all this. To this end, he is persecuted, tortured.

Question: Is it possible that someone does not want to improve the human rights situation in the country and is constantly working in this direction? Because the authorities sometimes take positive steps. For example, an act of amnesty. And then there are political arrests again. Is it possible that someone in the government is doing this on purpose?

Answer: For a long time, there has been an opinion in society about a dual approach. But there has never been a consensus on this matter in society. One group of people thinks as you suggested, and another group says the opposite. To make such a statement, one must be inside the political kitchen of the authorities. Otherwise, we can only make assumptions.

For example, we can say that the Amnesty Act is a step towards softening, but some will not like it, and they will immediately do something in opposition to it, start harassing someone so that the West put pressure on the government, and so on.

But I do not think that positive steps are the signing of an Amnesty Ordinance or a Pardon Order. The positive steps would be to eliminate the problems leading to conflict in the system of political relations, ensure political freedoms, create conditions for the development of independent media, remove restrictions related to civil society, and carry out judicial reforms that would provide citizens with a fair trial.

If you remember, last year, after the early parliamentary elections, the authorities came up with a certain program, sending a message to the public that all the problems are the result of false reports and opinions of the old team. The approach was something like this - a mistake was made in the political administration. And now new relations are beginning to emerge, and socio-political relations will begin to re-form. This was followed by meetings with political parties, civil society, some steps were taken in relation to the media, etc.

At first, war was used as a pretext. However, a year has passed since its end, and there are no serious results. Imagine, illegal checks at the entrance and exit from the country have not stopped either. In this situation, there is no hope associated with other fundamental issues. On the other hand, if, as you say, some force within the government can prevent this, then it means that it is stronger and this will continue for quite some time.

Question: The good news of recent days is the cancellation by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan of all decisions of local courts on the removal of Aslan Ismayilov from advocacy. The last time the Council of Europe discussed the implementation of the decisions concerning several lawyers was in September this year. The final decision of the organization emphasizes that Khalid Bagirov, Elchin Namazov, Aslan Ismayilov should be reinstated in membership in the Bar Association. However, it is clear that this step was taken after the decision of the European Court. That is, after the decision of all local courts. That is, we again return to the activities of the courts. Do courts think about the image of the state when making such decisions?

Answer: Unfortunately, there is also a selective approach here. A positive decision was made in respect of only one lawyer, although the final decision contained a demand concerning other lawyers. What does this mean?! This means the following - "we will implement decisions only in the form that is beneficial to us." For those they like, positive steps will be taken immediately. And the question of the rest will remain open. Or they will wait - if because of them the pressure turns out to be very large, then positive steps will be taken in relation to the rest. Or they are used for bargaining with any international organization.

If not, what are they waiting for? Why aren't legal decisions made in relation to other persons ?! What is the purpose of this political discrimination ?! What message does it contain?

The same thing happened with members of civil society. Despite the fact that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe several times gave the government time, a positive decision on the "Mammadli group" is not made.

When it comes to taking care of the state's image when making decisions, the courts make decisions on behalf of the state. Without the consent of the political authorities, these decisions will not change. Because the courts are not independent.

Question: What can be done to improve the human rights situation in the country so that no one is persecuted and arrested for dissent?

Answer: First of all, it is necessary to have political will. If there is political will, we will quickly resolve these problems. We, just like normal states, will deal with more serious issues. We will achieve the strengthening of our country, an increase in the well-being of citizens, a permanent, not temporary, weight in the region. We will establish serious and stable international relations and will be able to carry out successful lobbying activities abroad. We will be able to protect ourselves from the pressure of empires. Public control will be ensured, corruption and bad governance will be eliminated. Human rights will be respected and citizens will not be persecuted due to differences in political views. We shouldn't be limited to victory only on the battlefield. We must also defeat lawlessness, corruption, mismanagement, official arbitrariness and electoral fraud. The state should draw up a real plan of action in this direction, but not in the form of decrees, laws that remain on paper or have no influence. If he is sincere in this direction, then we are ready to make our contribution in various forms, both to the improvement of the legislative base and to the creation of a good management system. Otherwise, these problems will be chronic and hinder our development. 

Kamran Mahmudov