Letter to the Members of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Board on the Working Conditions of Civil Society in Azerbaijan

Annex

Briefing Note on Conditions of Civil Society in Azerbaijan

Introduction

Over a year since Azerbaijan’s status at the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was downgraded, the environment for independent civil society organisations (CSOs) remains highly problematic. According to Michael Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, who visited Azerbaijan on 14 - 22 September 2016,civil society in Azerbaijan is "facing the worst situation" since independence.[1]

In his statement on 22 September, the Special Rapporteur condemned the crippling pressure on journalists and human rights activists critical of the government, which has made it virtually impossible for non-governmental organizations to operate.[2]

The conditions created by the government of Azerbaijan make the work of the independent civil society organisations extremely difficult. Repressive legislation severely limits the operation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and criminal proceedings have been launched against numerous CSOs. A range of intimidation tactics place further substantial restrictions on NGO activities in Azerbaijan. Although in the past year the government of Azerbaijan has taken some limited steps in relation to NGOs participating in EITI activities, the overall situation in this sector remains deplorable.

Civil Society Actors Participating in EITI

In the past months, the government has taken some limited positive actions to remedy the issues outlined in the EITI corrective action plan. The bank accounts of EITI members were unfrozen. However, notwithstanding the aforementioned incremental improvements, there remain a vast number of unresolved issues.

Asif Yusifli and Fuad Gahramanli, two members of the EITI Coalition of Azerbaijan NGOs, are currently in prison. Asif Yusifli, a high-ranking member of the opposition party Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), was arrested in November 2014 on charges of fraud and forgery. Although the victim in the case had no complaints and was compensated for pecuniary damage, Asif Yusifli was convicted and sentenced to seven years and six months in prison by Baku Grave Crimes Court on 30 July 2015. On 4 May 2016, Supreme Court reduced Yusifli’s sentence to six years.

Gahramanli, deputy chairman of the opposition Popular Front Party, was arrested on 8 December 2015 on charges of incitement to religious hatred, in connection to comments he posted on Facebook. The comments constituted legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and Amnesty International have named Gahramanli a prisoner of conscience. He is currently in pre-trial detention, as the court proceedings in his criminal case are underway. The proceedings against both men are widely believed to be politically-motivated, aimed at preventing their activities as opposition politicians.

Furthermore, the wife of Fuad Gahramanli, Zumrud Yagmur has also faced reprisals as her novel Country Name: 22 was effectively banned from sale by bookshops due to content critical of the government.

Ogtay Gulaliyev, EITI Council member and chairman of the Public Association for Democratic Reform, is currently under an international travel ban in regard to an ongoing criminal case dating back to 2012. On 23 June 2016, after applying for a new passport, he was taken to the police station and informed of the ban. Ogtay Gulaliyevis a member of Kura Civil Society, a social body established to ensure transparency and combat corruption over the equitable distribution of public funds allocated for people affected by floods of Kura River. On 8 April 2012, Gulaliyev was arrested during a meeting with flood-affected residents based on allegation that he was swearing in public. Gulaliyev was originally sentenced to 12days of administrative imprisonment for minor hooliganism on 9 April 2012. However, the day before the expiration of his administrative detention, on 20 April 2012, Gulaliyev was sentenced to two-months of pre-trial detention and charged with “active disobedience to authorities’ legal orders” and  “incitement to mass riots and to violence against citizens”. On 13 June 2012, Sabirabad Regional Court replaced Gulaliyev’s pre-trial detention with police supervision and he was consequently released. However the criminal case against him remains open.

Another EITI NGO Coalition member, chairman of "Free Person" Human Rights Protection Society Sabuhi Gafarov, has been charged with tax evasion, illegal business and abuse of office in 2015 as part of the criminal case launched against NGOs by the Serious Crimes Investigation Department (SCID) of Prosecutor General's Office in 2014. After being interrogated and fearing his imminent arrest, he left Azerbaijan in 2015. The criminal case against him is ongoing and, as a result, he is unable to return to Azerbaijan.

Coalition members Zohrab Ismayil, chairman of the Public Association for Assistance to Free Economy (PAAFE) and Elchin Abdullayev, chairman of Democratic Institution and Human Rights Public Union were forced to leave Azerbaijan in 2014 to avoid their imminent arrest on spurious charges. They have been unable to resume their activities in Azerbaijan. Several leaders of the NGOs represented in the EITI NGO Coalition Council have also left the country as a result of governmental pressure and their inability to continue their work. Moreover, numerous members of the EITI Coalition have been denied registration by the Ministry of Justice.The government has failed to create an enabling environment for these individuals, and they remain unable to return to Azerbaijan to continue their work.

In addition, the Baku Tax Department, acting without a court order, withdrew a sum of moneyfrom the bank account of PAAFE, allegedly tax owed by a member of the PAAFE.

The inability of these independent members to operate in Baku has led to an increase in the number of pro-government NGOs in the Coalition, thus enabling the government to control the activities of the NGOs in the framework of EITI.

Overall Conditions for CSO in Azerbaijan

In 2014, the Government of Azerbaijan began a systematic crackdown on civil society. The amendments to the Law on Non-Profit Organisations and Law on State Registration and Registry of Legal Entities that introduced burdensome registration requirements increased administrative responsibility, and de facto prohibited access to foreign funding. These laws place severe limitations on NGOs' ability to work. The changes to legislation also made it impossible for foreign NGOs to operate in Azerbaijan.

The criminal case initiated by the Serious Crimes Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office against several NGOs that had received foreign funding has been ongoing for over two years. Natig Jafarli, REAL Movement Executive Secretary and economist critical of government policy, was recently arrested and later conditionally released in connection to the case.

Criticism of the authorities is met with varying degree of repressions including criminal proceedings on trumped-up charges. For instance, Akram Aylisli, a prominent 78-year-old Azerbaijani author and outspoken critic of the government, was stopped at Baku's international airport and accused of assaulting and seriously injuring a significantly younger border guard. The criminal case against him on charges of "using violence against government representatives" remains ongoing.

Furthermore, the bank accounts of numerous NGOs remain frozen while travel bans imposed on their directors are still in place. The bank accounts of 10 NGOs and human rights defenders are frozen and several NGOs leaders are banned from leaving the country.

In general, the government does not consult with independent NGOs and disregards their proposals for the reform of NGO laws and other recommendations. Civil society representatives have prepared and disseminated a package of proposals on legislative amendments that are required for the effective functioning of civil society. Unfortunately, the government is not interested in opening a dialogue with civil society, nor in addressing the existing issues.

Moreover, the NGOs ability to organise public events has been curtailed by lack of resources and the fact that hotels refuse to provide venues for independent CSOs.

Civil society has been unable to participate in monitoring of governmental activities, particularly with respect to transparency, since the beginning of the crackdown and critical voices, including in the cultural sector, face persecution. There is no national plan on transparency and CSO contributions in this area are impossible unless the existing legal and political barriers are lifted.

Legislation Restricting NGO Operation

Since the EITI Board decided to downgrade Azerbaijan’s status on 14 April 2015, the Azerbaijani government has adopted several restrictive amendments to legislation regulating NGO operation:

(i) On 5 June 2015, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted new rules for the registration of grant agreements introducing numerous obligations for NGOs, including new registration requirements;

(ii) On 21 October 2015, the Cabinet of Ministers published rules for the registration of contracts on the provision of works and services that are covered by funds from foreign donors, introducing additional requirements for such contracts;

(iii) On 22 October 2015, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a new procedure according to which foreign donors may only issue grants in Azerbaijan with prior approval from the government;

(iv) On 12 February 2016, the Ministry of Justice published Rules for Studying the Activities of Non-Governmental Organizations and Branches or Representative Offices of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations. The rules granted broad powers to the Ministry to inspect and penalise NGOs in Azerbaijan.

Conclusion

The positive steps taken by Azerbaijan with respects to several members of the EITI Coalition are merely ad hoc improvements that fade in comparison to the overall situation for civil society.  Several members of the EITI Coalition are imprisoned while others have been forced to flee the country. There have been no systemic changes to address the issues hindering the work of civil society since the 2014 crackdown.  This has made it possible for the government to dominate the EITI processes through pro-governmental NGOs. It is evident that the government of Azerbaijan has fallen far short of its obligation to implement the remedial actions outlined by the EITI.

20 October, 2016