Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture, Switzerland
July 17 2006
Azerbaijan: Sentencing of Mr. Bashirli, Mr. Nuri and Mr. Tagiyev
Case AZE 250805.8 – Follow up to Cases AZE 250805 /.1 /.2 /.3 /.4 /.5
/.6 /.7
Sentencing
Geneva, 17 July 2006
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against
Torture (OMCT) has received new information about the following
situation in Azerbaijan.
New Information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Human
Rights Centre of Azerbaijan, a member of the OMCT network, that on 12
July 2006 the Court of Grave Crimes sentenced Mr. Ruslan Bashirli,
chairman of the Youth Movement "Yeni Fikir" (New Idea) to seven years
in prison, Mr. Ramin Tagiyev, vice-chairman of Yeni Fikir to four
years and Mr. Said Nuri to five years. According to the information
received, judge Tofiq Pasheyev read out the sentence and ordered a
three year probation for Mr. Said Nuri, considering his illness, with
the remaining two years in reformatory.
According to the information received, they were charged with
attempting to overthrow the government with the aid of the Armenian
secret service. Furthermore, the charge of illegal entrepreneurship
has been dropped on the suggestion of the prosecution. The defense
lawyers asked the court to acquit the defendants. It is reported that
none of the two lawyers, representing the Yeni Fikir members, was
present at this hearing. One of them was informed about the hearing
only half an hour before and the second lawyer was not informed at
all.
It is reported that Mr. Said Nuri said that representatives of Yeni
Fikir will appeal the verdict and are willing to take the case as far
as the European Court.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned that the
defendants’ right to a jury trial -provided for by the Azerbaijani
Code of Criminal Procedure – has not been respected. Moreover, the
lawyers of Mr. Bashirli, Mr.Tagiyev and Mr. Nuri, were not present
during the court session on 10 July 2006 in which the indictment was
read out by the court. These grave violations of their procedural
rights call into question the fairness of their trial.
The International Secretariat of OMCT also expresses its grave
concern over the independence of the judiciary.
>Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, Mr. Ruslan Bashirli was
arrested on August 3, 2005, on charges of "plotting to overthrow the
Azerbaijani leadership at the instigation of Armenian intelligence
agents", with whom he allegedly met in Tbilisi on July 28 and 29,
2005. A criminal case under clause 278 of the Criminal Code of the
Republic of Azerbaijan ("actions directed to seizing or keeping the
power by force") was brought against him by the Prosecutor’s Office
of the Republic of Azerbaijan. If found guilty, he could face life
imprisonment. Moreover, he was accused of "illegal entrepreneurship"
(Art.192 of the Criminal Code). According to the article, the running
of a business (entrepreneurship) without registration or license is
punished by fine, limitation of liberty up to 3 years, or
imprisonment up to 5 years. However, this should not apply to a
non-profit organisation. Furthermore, Mr. Ruslan Bashirli’s family
has been subjected to harassment. Mr. Ruslan Bashirli’s father, Mr.
Djalil Bashirli, was forced to leave his position as a schoolteacher.
Moreover, his house, located in Zardob, was attacked by a mob that
threw stones at his house. Mr. Ruslan Bashirli’s uncle, Mr. Fuzuli
Qasimov, senior tax inspector in the region of Goychay, was dismissed
on August 8, 2005. Mr. Ruslan Bashirli was allegedly tortured which
resulted in the deterioration of his health. Therefore he was
transferred to the medical unit of the Bayil Prison, Baku city.
However, according to his lawyer, the conditions of the medical unit
did not permit adequate medical treatment.
On 12 September 2005, police arrested Mr. Said Nuri. He was
temporarily detained in confinement at the Narimanov District Police
Administration, where he was reportedly accused of "preparation of a
coup d’etat and getting financial support from interested forces".
The "evidence" was his participation in a seminar in Poland organised
by the Institute of European Democracy. On the day after his arrest,
Mr. Nuri was hospitalised because of a poor health condition
(talassemia, and problems with his internal organs) in the City
Clinical Hospital No. 1 in Baku. On 14 September 2005, it was
reported that Mr. Nuri had received necessary treatment and was
released. However, the next day, he was rearrested on his way to
work, although the Prosecutor’s Office stated that he was "invited"
by the investigator. On 14 November 2005, Mr. Said Nuri was released
from hospital where he had been since 15 September 2005, and was
placed under house arrest. At that time, the charges against him had
not been dropped.
On 16 September 2005, the Nasimi district court of Baku approved the
preliminary arrest of Mr. Ramin Tagiyev. He was detained in Bayil
Prison (Investigation Isolator #1 of the Ministry of Justice), on
suspicion of preparing the forced seizure of power under the same
case as Mr. Ruslan Bashirli’s. Mr. Bashirli’s lawyer would have
reported that he was kept in a very cold cell in isolation.
The trials for Mr. Bashirli, Mr. Nuri and Mr. Tagiyev started on 31
March 2006 in the Court of Grave Crimes under chairmanship of judge
Tofiq Pasheyev. The bill of accusations against the three men
included Articles 278, 192.2.1 and 192.2.2 Criminal Code of the
Republic of Azerbaijan (attempt of illegal seizure of power and
illegal entrepreneurship). Following the decision of this judge that
the hearings would take place behind closed doors, Mr. Bashirli and
Mr. Tagiyev started a hunger strike on 2 April 2006. Moreover, on 7
April 2006 Mr. Bashirli, Mr. Nuri and Mr. Tagiyev refused themselves
lawyers, asserting that they do not consider their services useful if
the process is not transparent. Following this, the judge forcibly
appointed new lawyers, who are paid by the government, because the
Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Azerbaijan states that
a defendant who is tried under Article 278 is obligated to have a
defender. Moreover, as conviction under Article 278 can lead to life
imprisonment, in such cases Azerbaijani legislation requires, since 1
September 2000, that the case is to be tried by a jury. However, for
unknown reasons, the establishment of a jury is still pending.
Therefore ordinary courts now give all the verdicts, including
life-long sentences.
Furthermore, during the above-mentioned hearing on 7 April 2006, the
defendants were removed from the court hall for disruption of order
because they actively protested and ‘shouted various slogans’. Also,
Mr. Said Nuri, who was placed under house arrest was threatened to be
arrested if he continued to inform the media about the content of the
closed hearings.
Action requested
Please continue to write to the authorities in Azerbaijan urging them
to:
i. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and
psychological integrity of Mr. Bashirli, Mr. Nuri and Mr. Tagiyev;
ii. Ensure that, should Mr. Bashirli, Mr. Nuri and Mr. Tagiyev
appeal, all their procedural rights will be respected;
iii. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental
freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international
human rights standards.
Addresses
Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Office of
the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19 Istiqlaliyyat St.,
Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 492 06 25, +994 412 92 28 68,
E-mail: office@apparat.gov.az, president@gov.az, root@lider.baku.az
Prosecutor’s Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku, Azerbaijan, Fax:
+994 12 492 06 82, +994 12 492 26 63, E-mail: prosec@azeri.com
Minister of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, Lt.-Gen.
Ramil Usubov, Fax: + 994 12 492 45 90
S.E. l’Ambassadeur H.E. Ambassador, Mr. Elchin Amirbayov, Rue de
Lausanne 67, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, e-mail :
az.mission.unog@iprolink.ch, fax: +4122 901 18 44
Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan, Mr. Fikret Mamedov, Prospekt
Stroitelej, 1 Baku Azerbaijan, e-mail: contact@justice.gov.az, Tel
(99412) 430 01 16, Fax (99412) 430 09 81
Azerbaijani Embassy in Brussels, Mr. Mamedov, Avenue Moliere, 464,
1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 345 26 60, Fax: +32 2 345 91 85
Please also write to the embassy of Azerbaijan in your respective
country.
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