D. Kramer: Without Release of Political Prisoners, US Sanctions Inevitable

The Director of the McCain's Institute of Human Rights and Democracy, David Kramer, in an interview with the Voice of America ​​commented on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the recent decree on pardon that did not in include any political prisoners and the Act on Democracy proposed by the US Helsinki Commission, which provides for sanctions against violators of human rights in the country.

In his opinion, without releasing political prisoners, the Azerbaijani government continues to strike at its own image in the West, and once will be faced with the consequences of this course.

"President Aliyev had a chance to take the right step and release political prisoners. However, he missed the opportunity. Instead, along with the non-release of political prisoners another journalist (Rauf Mirkadyrov) was sentenced to six years in jail. Thus, the situation is going to worse," said Kramer.

He does not believe the widespread opinion that if it were not for the initiative of Congressman Chris Smith, who introduced the bill on Act of Democracy in Azerbaijan, the political prisoners would have been released, based on the example of the earlier release of the human rights activist Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif Yunus from prison.

Thus Kramer noted that the Yunus couple were released on humanitarian grounds and they have not been cleared of all charges.

"Their question was not fully resolved. Despite the release, they cannot go abroad for necessary medical treatment," continued Kramer.

According to him, the Smith bill is just an excuse for the representatives of the official Baku.

"In fact, missing this opportunity, they (the authorities) have shown their support for the adoption of this act," said Kramer.

No release of political prisoners only adds Congressional supporters of the Act, according to Kramer.

According to him, the diplomacy, the possibility of public policy did not bring any results, and in this situation there is no other choice but to resort to sanctions.

 With regard to the timing of the sanctions, the discussion of a similar Magnitsky Act with respect to Russia began in 2010 and was adopted after 2.5 years - at the end of 2012.

The question concerning the situation in Azerbaijan is still at the stage, where Magnitsky Act was in 2010.

According to Kramer, if political prisoners are released, the Smith bill will be removed from the agenda.

- Will the Azerbaijani lobby in Washington D.C. oppose the adoption of the bill?

"The lobbyists' activity will be efficient if the situation in Azerbaijan is efficient. But the situation is extremely difficult," Kramer noted further.

On the contrary, in his view, to the extent of informing Congress about the deteriorating situation in Azerbaijan, the lobbying campaign could backfire.

The pressure on Azadlig Radio as the US-funded entity and the arrest of its journalist Khadija Ismailova does not contribute to solving the problem.

Lobbyists are unlikely to sweep these problems under the carpet. In this situation, the involvement of lobbyists is wasted money, says Kramer.

In the context of the fall in oil prices, Azerbaijan has not so much money as before.

"The government has the opportunity to take many times less expensive steps. These include the release of political prisoners. It would be the biggest increase to the image of Azerbaijan in Washington," continued Kramer.

- Azerbaijan is facing financial difficulties and oil prices have fallen to the lowest level in the last 11 years. Does this not affect the geostrategic importance of Azerbaijan for the United States?

In answering this question, Kramer said, "Even though oil prices have fallen, Azerbaijan is a country of importance to America. In addition to energy, there are security issues. It is not just limited to transit to Afghanistan. Located between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan is situated on a geographic area important for counterterrorism. We want prosperity of US relations with Azerbaijan. But we cannot do that because we witness the most cruel pressure on human rights since the time of Azerbaijan's independence. We cannot sacrifice principles. Azerbaijan is important. However, if this government continues this course, its importance can decrease. Making the right and necessary steps depends on Baku and if this is not done, then the probability of growth of support for the bill (Smith) will be high."   -06D--