Tweet
AZERBAIJANI YOUTH ACTIVISTS TRIAL PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Khadija Ismailova and Shahin Abbasov
EurasiaNet, NY
April 17 2006
With just over a week before Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
meets with US President George W Bush, the closed-door trial of three
Azerbaijani youth movement leaders charged with plotting to overthrow
the government has sparked a sharp condemnation of Azerbaijan's human
rights practices.
The three Yeni Fikir (New Thinking) activists -- Ruslan Bashirli,
leader of the organization, and deputies Ramin Tagiyev and Said Nuri
-- have been charged with preparing a government coup and "illegal
entrepreneurship," or tax evasion. The prosecution has dropped a
previous accusation that the three were spying for Armenia.
Judge Tofiq Pashayev, one of three judges hearing the case against
the Yeni Fikir group, ruled on April 7 that media and the public
would be barred from the courtroom for "national security concerns."
In response, the three men have refused to testify and to have legal
representation in court. Three court-appointed defense lawyers have
since been assigned to the trio, however.
The Baku mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), local human rights activists and the opposition Azadlig
alliance have protested the court decision to conduct the hearings
behind closed doors. "We were surprised to learn about the decision
since the main evidence of the prosecution had been shown on state and
private TV channels before the investigation started," Maurizio Pavesi,
head of the OSCE mission, said in an April 6 statement. The decision
does little to increase public trust in Azerbaijan's judiciary system,
Pavesi argued, and makes it impossible for OSCE observers to assess
the fairness of the trial and whether it meets international standards.
In an April 13 interview with Radio Liberty's Azeri-language service,
a spokesperson for the US State Department Bureau for European and
Asian Affairs echoed those concerns. "Conducting these proceedings
behind closed doors and restricting the defendants' access to the
evidence against them are inconsistent with international norms and
basic rule of law" said Linda Hartley, Turan news service reported.
International human rights organizations have also expressed skepticism
about the chances for a fair trial. "Azerbaijan's government is known
for pressing charges against opposition figures for what appear to
be political reasons, and the Yeni Fikir case fits this pattern,"
Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division Executive Director
Holly Cartner said in a March 31 statement. "We are deeply concerned
that the three men will not get a fair trial."
Police are keeping careful watch on the courthouse, located in
downtown Baku, where the trial is being held, with police cars
stationed throughout the neighborhood to prevent protests.
Yeni Fikir leader Ruslan Bashirli, 27, was arrested in late July 2005
after returning from a conference in Tbilisi, where he allegedly was
paid by Armenian agents to organize a coup against President Ilham
Aliyev. Bashirli's associate, Osman Alimuradov, who accompanied
him to Tbilisi, became the main source for the allegations against
Bashirli and provided a videotape that supposedly substantiated his
claims. Alimuradov, also a Yeni Fikir member, testified that he had
tried to convince Bashirli to refuse the money offered for the coup,
but had failed. Two of Bashirli's deputies, Said Nuri and Ramin
Tagiyev, were later detained on similar charges.
At the time of the group's arrests last summer, many independent
observers and opposition members had argued that the detentions were
related to Azerbaijan's contentious parliamentary elections campaign.
[For background, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Yeni Fikir had a
loose affiliation with the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA),
one of the country's leading opposition parties, and a founding member
of the opposition election alliance Azadlig (Freedom). In a statement
from the prosecutor general's office, PFPA Chairman Ali Kerimli was
accused of being associated with the alleged Armenian-backed coup
attempt, but was never formally charged.
Though the Yeni Fikir case attracted considerable initial media
attention last summer during the parliamentary campaign, local
television stations are now largely ignoring the trial, leaving the
bulk of coverage to independent and opposition print media.
Government representatives to date have refrained from any comment
about the trial.
Ironically, defendant Said Nuri, currently under house arrest,
has served as the key press conduit for information about the
proceedings. His role has prompted repeated warnings from the state
prosecutor and Pashayev that he will be arrested if he does not stop
issuing "disinformation" about the proceedings.
According to Nuri, the prosecution's two main witnesses -- Osman
Alimuradov and Merab Jibutia, a Georgian citizen who prosecutors claim
was one of the alleged Armenian agents paying Bashirli - have already
been questioned. Jibutia was arrested in autumn 2005, while crossing
the Georgian-Azerbaijani border carrying a false passport and Armenian
currency. Opposition media have alleged that both Alimuradov and
Jibutia were acting at the behest of the Azerbaijani special services.
"Jibutia, their [the prosecution's] own agent, put the authorities
in a spot. The prosecutor asked four times whether [PFPA leader]
Ali Kerimli asked for any help with organizing a coup attempt and
was very angry to get the answer 'No' each time . . .[Jibutia]
gives contradictory answers and they [the prosecution] repeat their
questions if they have not received the desired answer," claimed Nuri.
The video tape supplied by Alimuradov that shows Bashirli allegedly
signing a receipt for $2,000 and drinking cognac with two men
identified by state prosecutors as Armenian agents has not been
submitted as evidence, Nuri said. The film had earlier been broadcast
regularly on pro-government television channels and public video
displays.
Nuri also stated that no medical examination has yet been scheduled
to confirm the defense charge that investigators tortured Ruslan
Bashirli. "In the preliminary hearing on March 31, the judge agreed
to begin preparations for this. But no medical examination has been
conducted."
The defendants believe that the charges against them are "made up by
the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan," and will not testify in
their own defense. The group expects to receive the maximum punishment
for the charges brought against them, Nuri continued.
Under Azerbaijan's criminal code, "preparing a government coup"
is punishable by a 10-15-year prison sentence.
"There is no justice in an Azerbaijani court. We will be the next
political prisoners. What can we do? We only hope that society
understands the real meaning of things," Nuri said.
Editor's Note: Khadija Ismayilova and Shain Abbasov are freelance
journalists based in Baku.
Khadija Ismailova and Shahin Abbasov
EurasiaNet, NY
April 17 2006
With just over a week before Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
meets with US President George W Bush, the closed-door trial of three
Azerbaijani youth movement leaders charged with plotting to overthrow
the government has sparked a sharp condemnation of Azerbaijan's human
rights practices.
The three Yeni Fikir (New Thinking) activists -- Ruslan Bashirli,
leader of the organization, and deputies Ramin Tagiyev and Said Nuri
-- have been charged with preparing a government coup and "illegal
entrepreneurship," or tax evasion. The prosecution has dropped a
previous accusation that the three were spying for Armenia.
Judge Tofiq Pashayev, one of three judges hearing the case against
the Yeni Fikir group, ruled on April 7 that media and the public
would be barred from the courtroom for "national security concerns."
In response, the three men have refused to testify and to have legal
representation in court. Three court-appointed defense lawyers have
since been assigned to the trio, however.
The Baku mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), local human rights activists and the opposition Azadlig
alliance have protested the court decision to conduct the hearings
behind closed doors. "We were surprised to learn about the decision
since the main evidence of the prosecution had been shown on state and
private TV channels before the investigation started," Maurizio Pavesi,
head of the OSCE mission, said in an April 6 statement. The decision
does little to increase public trust in Azerbaijan's judiciary system,
Pavesi argued, and makes it impossible for OSCE observers to assess
the fairness of the trial and whether it meets international standards.
In an April 13 interview with Radio Liberty's Azeri-language service,
a spokesperson for the US State Department Bureau for European and
Asian Affairs echoed those concerns. "Conducting these proceedings
behind closed doors and restricting the defendants' access to the
evidence against them are inconsistent with international norms and
basic rule of law" said Linda Hartley, Turan news service reported.
International human rights organizations have also expressed skepticism
about the chances for a fair trial. "Azerbaijan's government is known
for pressing charges against opposition figures for what appear to
be political reasons, and the Yeni Fikir case fits this pattern,"
Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division Executive Director
Holly Cartner said in a March 31 statement. "We are deeply concerned
that the three men will not get a fair trial."
Police are keeping careful watch on the courthouse, located in
downtown Baku, where the trial is being held, with police cars
stationed throughout the neighborhood to prevent protests.
Yeni Fikir leader Ruslan Bashirli, 27, was arrested in late July 2005
after returning from a conference in Tbilisi, where he allegedly was
paid by Armenian agents to organize a coup against President Ilham
Aliyev. Bashirli's associate, Osman Alimuradov, who accompanied
him to Tbilisi, became the main source for the allegations against
Bashirli and provided a videotape that supposedly substantiated his
claims. Alimuradov, also a Yeni Fikir member, testified that he had
tried to convince Bashirli to refuse the money offered for the coup,
but had failed. Two of Bashirli's deputies, Said Nuri and Ramin
Tagiyev, were later detained on similar charges.
At the time of the group's arrests last summer, many independent
observers and opposition members had argued that the detentions were
related to Azerbaijan's contentious parliamentary elections campaign.
[For background, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Yeni Fikir had a
loose affiliation with the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA),
one of the country's leading opposition parties, and a founding member
of the opposition election alliance Azadlig (Freedom). In a statement
from the prosecutor general's office, PFPA Chairman Ali Kerimli was
accused of being associated with the alleged Armenian-backed coup
attempt, but was never formally charged.
Though the Yeni Fikir case attracted considerable initial media
attention last summer during the parliamentary campaign, local
television stations are now largely ignoring the trial, leaving the
bulk of coverage to independent and opposition print media.
Government representatives to date have refrained from any comment
about the trial.
Ironically, defendant Said Nuri, currently under house arrest,
has served as the key press conduit for information about the
proceedings. His role has prompted repeated warnings from the state
prosecutor and Pashayev that he will be arrested if he does not stop
issuing "disinformation" about the proceedings.
According to Nuri, the prosecution's two main witnesses -- Osman
Alimuradov and Merab Jibutia, a Georgian citizen who prosecutors claim
was one of the alleged Armenian agents paying Bashirli - have already
been questioned. Jibutia was arrested in autumn 2005, while crossing
the Georgian-Azerbaijani border carrying a false passport and Armenian
currency. Opposition media have alleged that both Alimuradov and
Jibutia were acting at the behest of the Azerbaijani special services.
"Jibutia, their [the prosecution's] own agent, put the authorities
in a spot. The prosecutor asked four times whether [PFPA leader]
Ali Kerimli asked for any help with organizing a coup attempt and
was very angry to get the answer 'No' each time . . .[Jibutia]
gives contradictory answers and they [the prosecution] repeat their
questions if they have not received the desired answer," claimed Nuri.
The video tape supplied by Alimuradov that shows Bashirli allegedly
signing a receipt for $2,000 and drinking cognac with two men
identified by state prosecutors as Armenian agents has not been
submitted as evidence, Nuri said. The film had earlier been broadcast
regularly on pro-government television channels and public video
displays.
Nuri also stated that no medical examination has yet been scheduled
to confirm the defense charge that investigators tortured Ruslan
Bashirli. "In the preliminary hearing on March 31, the judge agreed
to begin preparations for this. But no medical examination has been
conducted."
The defendants believe that the charges against them are "made up by
the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan," and will not testify in
their own defense. The group expects to receive the maximum punishment
for the charges brought against them, Nuri continued.
Under Azerbaijan's criminal code, "preparing a government coup"
is punishable by a 10-15-year prison sentence.
"There is no justice in an Azerbaijani court. We will be the next
political prisoners. What can we do? We only hope that society
understands the real meaning of things," Nuri said.
Editor's Note: Khadija Ismayilova and Shain Abbasov are freelance
journalists based in Baku.