AZERBAIJAN: VERDICT AGAINST YOUTH ACTIVISTS RAISES INTERNATIONAL CONCERN
By Shahin Abbasov and Khadija Ismailova 7/17/06

EurasiaNet, NY
July 17 2006

International organizations and foreign governments are criticizing a
recent Azerbaijani court verdict, in which leaders of the Yeni Fikir
(New Idea) youth organization were found guilty of plotting a coup
and sentenced to as many as seven-years in prison.

A Baku court found Ruslan Bashirli, the former head of Yeni Fikir,
and his deputies, Ramin Tagiyev and Said Nuri, guilty of trying to
overthrow President Ilham Aliyev’s administration under the terms of
article 278 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. The sentences were
handed down July 12 during an unscheduled court sitting not attended
by defense lawyers, media representatives or the families of the
accused. Bashirli received the lengthiest prison term – seven years.

Tagiyev was given a four-year sentence and Nuri received a suspended
sentence of five years.

During the trial, the prosecution accused the Norwegian Embassy, the
National Democratic Institute, a US non-governmental organization
(NGO), and former US presidential advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski of
instructing Yeni Fikir members on subversive political tactics.

Nelson C. Ledsky, NDI’s regional director for Eurasia, characterized
the accusation as "false," adding that the NGO had "no involvement"
with Bashirli.

The youth activists were arrested during the run-up to Azerbaijan’s
November 2005 parliamentary elections. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. Opposition parties portrayed the cases against
the youth activists as a government attempt to silence criticism
and to prevent possible mass protests. Youth groups in Georgia and
Ukraine played key roles in organizing demonstrations in 2003 and 2004
respectively that forced the incumbent governments in both states from
power. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Yeni Fikir
is loosely associated with the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan,
one of the country’s largest opposition parties.

Bashirli was arrested last August 3 after a video was handed over
to prosecutors that depicted the youth activist taking $ 2,000 "for
the development of democracy" from a person later identified by the
prosecutor’s office as an alleged agent of the Armenian security
services. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. A fellow
Yeni Fikir member, who traveled with Bashirli to Tbilisi where the
meeting occurred, served as prosecutors’ chief source for the alleged
connection with the Armenia.

In comments to EurasiaNet, Osman Kazimov, the Yeni Fikir group’s
defense lawyer, argued that prosecutors never proved their case,
and that the government staged the trial to discredit the Azerbaijani
opposition by linking them with the Armenian special services.

On July 13, the Baku mission of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) issued a statement that expressed
"concern" over the conduct of the trial. "Notwithstanding the
extreme severity of [the] sentences which were handed down with
inadequate notice and in the absence of [the] defendants’ advocates,
the process leading to their arraignment and the proceedings at trial
fell short of international standards in upholding the rule of law,"
the statement read.

The OSCE mission called on the government "to take urgent and
appropriate steps to fully ensure the rights of the individual during
proceedings that are conducted in accordance with the rule of law."

The British and US embassies echoed those concerns. In a July 13
statement, the US embassy noted that "indicators existed that the
defendants’ rights to equal protection before the law, presumption of
innocence and an impartial hearing were not respected." The British
embassy stressed the importance of ensuring that any appeal is
conducted according to due process, and noted that it would continue
to follow the Yeni Fikir case "closely."

Prosecutors insist that the trial was conducted in accordance with
international and national laws, noting that the accused were given
defense lawyers and that, while initial sittings of the court were
closed for "national security concerns," later sessions had been
open. "Bashirli and his deputies have been convicted because their
crimes have been proved. If they do not agree with the court’s
decision, they can use their right to appeal to a higher court,"
said Vugar Aliyev, spokesperson for the Azerbaijan Chief Prosecutor’s
Office.

Those close to the defendants, however, believe there is virtually
no chance that the verdicts against the trio can be reversed on appeal.

"The court sentenced him now, but the government did it from the very
beginning," said Bashirli’s fiancee, who asked only to be identified
by her first name, Vusala. Reporters from state television and the
pro-government Leader TV encouraged Vusala to announce that she had
ended her relationship with Bashirli, she claimed. She continues to
defend Bashirli, however, asserting that the youth activist "loves
Azerbaijan and would never betray the motherland."

Bashirli’s mother, who has not seen her son since his arrest, also
defended her son. "They tortured him, and did not even provide him with
medical treatment unless international organizations protested his bad
treatment. They beat him to get testimony against [opposition leader]
Ali Kerimli and his Popular Front Party. Ruslan refused to do so,"
Zemfira Bashirli said. "This is not a country to live in. Ruslan wanted
to improve things in the country and fell victim to his struggle."

Representatives of the Popular Front Party, which has continued
to support Yeni Fikir, argue that the trial was intended to scare
Azerbaijani youth out of becoming politically active. Ramin Hasanov,
head of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party’s youth organization, denied
that the trial was politically motivated. In a July 12 interview with
the Voice of America, Hasanov maintained that "the court just gave
its assessment of the crime."

Editor’s Note: Khadija Ismayilova is an analyst based in Washington.

Shain Abbasov is a freelance journalist based in Baku.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress