Civil Society Working Group Calls for Release of All Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan

The Working Group for the compilation of a single list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day celebrated on December 10 has issued a statement.

As noted in the text sent to Turan by the co-coordinator of the working group, the human rights activist Rasul Jafarov, the human rights situation in Azerbaijan remains difficult.

Despite the fact that local and international human rights organizations regularly focus attention on the serious human rights problems, the Azerbaijani government does not demonstrate the political will to address them.

The Working Group notes with concern that as a result of the suppression of political rights, ruthless measures against the opposition and activists, Azerbaijan is among the leaders in the number of political prisoners in Europe and their number is steadily growing.

The statement names several journalists and bloggers imprisoned for freedom of expression. So, on trumped-up charges the journalist Seymour Hazy is imprisoned for 3 years and 1 month, Nijat Aliyev - 4.5 years, Abdul Abilov - 3 years and 1 month, Rashad Ramazanov - 3 years and 7 months. Apart from them in the prisons there is a large number of other representatives of the media and writers.

The activist of the NIDA movement Ilkin Rustamzadeh has been in jail for 3.6 years, although seven other young people convicted with him have already been released.

Two other activists of NIDA Bayram Mammadov and Giyas Ibrahimov received 10-year prison terms because of the written protest slogans on a monument to Heydar Aliyev. They were charged flimsy charges of drug trafficking. Within a few days after the arrest they were tortured.

Despite the decision of the European Court of Human Rights on the immediate release of the leader of the movement REAL Ilgar Mamedov, he has been contained in prison for almost 4 years.

In prisons are 10 activists of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, including the deputy chairman and adviser to the chairman of the party, Fuad Gahramanli and Mammad Ibrahim.

The Azadlig newspaper was forced to stop its release after its chief financial officer Faig Amirov was arrested in August of this year.

Dozens of believers are arrested, including the leader of the Muslim Unity movement Taleh Bagirzadeh, criticizing the religious policy of the authorities for many years, and other activists, subjected to torture and accused of serious crimes.

 The repression also touched the relatives of political activists. As a result, the list of political prisoners includes a number of individuals who are categorized as "political hostages".

The former members of Special Police Regiment Elchin Amiraslanov, Safa Poladov and Arif Kazimov are also recognized as political prisoners by local and international organizations. They have been kept in a closed prison for 20 years.

The former investigator Rufat Safarov, the former Health Minister Ali Insanov and a number of former government officials have been arrested for having protested against the authorities.

The Working Group called on the authorities to release political prisoners.

It also urged the international community not to remain indifferent to the issue of political prisoners, to increase efforts to rescue them and to raise this issue regularly and consistently.

The Working Group consists of more than 20 civil society activists. According to recent reports of the Working Group, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan is 119 people. Another 25 people are potential political prisoners and their cases are studied. -06D--