Pardon is not a panacea. Judicial system must be reformed

Baku/21.01.21/Turan: On January 20, local human rights activists published an updated list of persons recognized by them as political prisoners.

The list compiled by the "Union of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners for Freedom" includes the names of 145 people. They are divided into  the eight groups: "journalists and bloggers" - 7 people; "members of opposition parties and movements" - 7 people; "arrested after the rally on July 14-15, 2020 " - 5 people; " believers "- 46 people; "arrested in the Tartar case" - 25 people;" arrested in the Ganja case"- 41 people; "life prisoners"- 14 people;  and "hostages" (arrested for political or journalistic activities of their relatives) - 1.

The list was compiled by Leyla Yunus, the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy Leyla Yunus and Prisoners Elshan Hasanov, the chair of the Center for Monitoring Political Prisoners.

Is there a problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan? After Azerbaijan has won the second Karabakh war, the government announced reforms in other areas. Does the government intend to solve the problems in this area? Will the election of Joe Biden, the representative of the Democratic Party in the USA, influence this question?

Elman Nasirov, a member of the Milli Majlis Human Rights Committee, told Turan that there are no problems with political prisoners in Azerbaijan. "Azerbaijan is a democratic state and has chosen the path of democratic development. At one time, there was a popular statement by the great leader Heydar Aliyev: "The preservation and development of democratic principles in the created single, integral Azerbaijan is an important task and the main condition for strengthening the independent Azerbaijani state."  Azerbaijan is a democratic state, and there cannot be a talk about political prisoners. "

The MP noted that there are persons in Azerbaijan arrested for specific criminal acts. “Sometimes we have witnessed such cases when individuals choose the path of crime, and they know that this path sooner or later leads them to prison. In such a situation, they deliberately and artificially make political statements; in many cases, the authorities make statements that humiliate honor and dignity of representatives. Then, when they are arrested for a specific crime, questions are raised that at one time I was arrested for some thoughts. "

The member of the committee stressed that democracy itself is a process and it does not have an end. “Whenever any state says that it is at the last point of democracy, this is a very wrong approach. We have all seen the recent attack on Congress in the United States. Even five people were shot there. There is also an approach to this event. They consider this to be a triumph of democracy, in no case has the world community criticized the United States for the actions of the police. There were minor reactions. Now, think hypothetically - on July 14 last year, most of the Azerbaijani public supported the Supreme Command, the army, in protest against the provocation of Armenia; in the end, certain provocative actions took place, a number of people illegally entered the parliament building. God forbid, if the Azerbaijani police shot someone of the violators of this law. Although it is theoretically impossible, what would have happened in relation to Azerbaijan? Human rights defenders around the world would criticize the government. Compare, see what's going on. "

The MP noted that the United States of America was created in 1776; and it adopted the Constitution 11 years later. "89 years after its creation, the United States abolished slavery, amended the Constitution, 144 years after its creation provided women with the right to vote and, finally, 188 years after its creation, declared all citizens equal before the law. In a state that today considers itself the cradle of democracy, 200 years had to pass for everyone to be equal before the law. And now they are demanding such things from Azerbaijan?! How can they be so unfair?"

E. Nasirov added that reforms are continuing in Azerbaijan. "Mr. President laid the foundation for a new wave of reforms after the presidential elections in 2018. Reforms cover all areas, as well as political reforms. The Presidential Administration has been operating a department for relations with political parties and the legislative branch since November 2019. Since February 17 last of the year, meetings were held with all members of 55 political parties of Azerbaijan, except the PFPA and the National Council. The PFPA and the National Council chose the path of refusal. "

The deputy noted that the parties were registered. “Recently, congresses of 11 political parties have been held, which were also provided with state registration. Today there is a political dialogue between the authorities and the opposition. In particular, during the Great Patriotic War (Karabakh) 51 out of 52 political parties adopted a statement on support of the Azerbaijani statehood, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and appealed to the international community. Sometimes two parties on the same flank cannot make a political dialogue with each other. Because of the reforms initiated by Mr. President, 51 out of 52 political parties support these reforms, a new political culture, and become close to the state. To ignore this, you need to be politically crippled. The past and the present of Leyla Yunus, who compiled this list of political prisoners, are known. At all times, she stood on the same position. That is why the report prepared by her will be similar to themselves. "

Human rights activist Anar Mammadli believes that there is a problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. “Since I did not participate in the compilation of the last published list, I cannot say anything about the number of political prisoners. In fact, there is a serious problem of political prisoners in the country. Many people, representatives of the religious community, members of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, journalists, and bloggers were arrested for their activities.

The expert noted that there is no hope that the problem will be solved after the Karabakh war. “Because the government of Azerbaijan, one might say, has never removed the issue of political prisoners from the agenda. Someone was constantly being persecuted. Because the attitude of the authorities, especially towards freedom of expression, has never been normal, it has always been uncompromising."

A. Mammadli believes that a lot must be done to change radically this policy. “We constantly emphasize the issue of pardoning political prisoners. The appeal does not end there. Of course, we really want a pardon so that there are no arrests connected with political motives. In general, there is a need for reforms in the judicial system of Azerbaijan. The European Court of Human Rights also emphasizes in its decisions that a person can be easily arrested based on the claims of various individuals or law enforcement agencies. The courts also do not take a fair position in relation to such persons in connection with the choice of a preventive measure, in relation to the investigation and during the trial. From this point of view, reforms in the country should be comprehensive,” he said.

According to the human rights activist, in connection with the current situation, it is desirable that the authorities show political will and release political prisoners so that their number does not grow.

“It should be taken into account that the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan was also on the agenda of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In this regard, a resolution was adopted in 2019. I believe that the Azerbaijani government should release political prisoners if it really wants to appear democratic, modern, wants to have normal relations with various structures of the world and, finally, wants a dialogue in civil-state relations in the country,” Mammadli said.

The human rights activist noted that it is too early to say that Joe Biden's coming to power will give impetus to the solution of the problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. “It should be borne in mind that Azerbaijan and the United States should conduct a dialogue in the context of human rights. It is difficult to say to what extent this dialogue will begin, to what extent this issue will become the subject of discussion between the two countries.  I hope, based on Biden's statements, that after the Democrats come to power in the United States, the issue of human rights in the world will be considered a priority. From this point of view, I expect that the issue of human rights in Azerbaijan will again become relevant. However, a number of steps in this regard depend on the political will of the Azerbaijani authorities. If the authorities are confident in themselves, are sure that it is necessary to stop political arrests and political repressions, then these problems can be gradually eliminated." -0--