MСPPA Urges to Restore Representation of Citizens by Human Rights Defenders, Declare Amnesty

Baku / 21.12.20 / Turan: The Monitoring Center for Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan (MCPPA) issued a statement in which it proposed to restore the representation of citizens by human rights activists in courts and other law enforcement agencies.

The document recalls that from January 1, 2018, the rules came into force in Azerbaijan, according to which citizens can only be represented in these structures by members of the Bar Association. Thus, members of human rights organizations were removed from representation.

"This innovation, which caused criticism of the local and international democratic community, led to a weakening of the protection of citizens' rights, a sharp increase in the number of cases of beatings and torture of citizens in places of detention and the number of unfair court verdicts, including those related to disputes between citizens and banking institutions," the head of MCPPA Elshan Hasanov told Turan.

He believes that at present it is especially important to restore the institution of citizens' representation by human rights defenders and other proxies.

"Today, after the end of the war, thousands of people affected in various forms as a result of hostilities need legal assistance, in particular to receive insurance payments in connection with the destruction of houses, state aid, and prepare claims for compensation from the enemy for the damage caused," he said. Hasanov.

According to him, given the critical shortage of lawyers in the country, it would be useful to provide citizens with the opportunity to use the help of human rights defenders.

On the other hand, the MCPPA statement further says, taking into account the country's membership in the Council of Europe and the UN Human Rights Committee and the resulting obligations, the government must ensure the fundamental rights of citizens.

MCPPA calls on the authorities to restore human rights activities to the full in accordance with European standards, remove unjustified obstacles to registration of NGOs and remove other obstacles to the work of civil society institutions, and declare a broad amnesty.

“These measures would allow, along with achieving a military victory, to bring Azerbaijan to the leadership of the region in ensuring human rights and the rule of law,” Hasanov said.

MCPPA was established in October 2014 by a group of former “prisoners of conscience”.    — 06B-