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EUROPARLIAMENT CONDEMNS AZERI HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
asbarez
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
European Parliament
BRUSSELS-The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution
unanimously condemning Azerbaijan continued human rights violations and
Baku's oppression of opposition forces and press during its plenary
convened in Strasbourg, reported the European Armenian Federation
for Justice and Democracy.
During oral discussion at the plenary session, representatives of
all political factions strongly condemened Azerbaijan's executive
and judicial branches for their continued breach of human rights norms.
The European Parliament also stressed that European Union should not
bow to Aliyev's regime because of Azerbaijan's import of oil and gas.
Under the basic freedoms, human rights and democracy agenda item
members of parliament discussed and unanimously approved the resolution
condemning Azerbaijan for "the increasing number of incidents of
harassment, attacks and violence against civil society and social
network activists and journalists in Azerbaijan."
The resolution "strongly deplores the practice of intimidating,
arresting, prosecuting and convicting independent journalists and
political activists on various criminal charges."
The European Parliament also urged the authorities of Azerbaijan
"to safeguard all necessary conditions to allow the media, including
opposition media, to operate, so that journalists can work and report
freely without any pressure, and to pay special attention to the
safety of journalists; in this regard recalls the pledge given by
President Ilham Aliyev in 2005, in which he asserted that the rights
of every journalist were protected and defended by the State."
The resolution expressed deep concern about "the worsening human rights
situation in the Republic of Azerbaijan; calls on the Azerbaijani
authorities to safeguard the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
and other international treaties to which the Republic of Azerbaijan
is a party and to respect OSCE and Council of Europe commitments."
Below is the complete text of the resolution:
European Parliament resolution of 12 May 2011 on Azerbaijan
The European Parliament, - having regard to its previous resolutions
on Azerbaijan, in particular that of 17 December 2009 ,
- having regard to its resolutions of 20 May 2010 on the need for an
EU strategy for the South Caucasus, of 7 April 2011 on the review
of the European Neighbourhood Policy - Eastern Dimension and of 20
January 2011 on an EU Strategy for the Black Sea,
- having regard to the statement by the spokesperson of the
Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy of 18
April 2011 and the statement by the EU Delegation office in Baku of
10 March 2011,
- having regard to the conclusions of the Eastern Partnership Foreign
Ministers'meeting of 13 December 2010,
- having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between
the EC and Azerbaijan which entered into force in 1999,
- having regard to the statements of the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media on the attack on journalists of 10 March 2011
and of 28 March 2011,
- having regard to the report by the ODIHR Election Observation
Mission on the parliamentary elections of 7 November 2010,
- having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Azerbaijan is actively participating in the European
Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, is a founding member
of Euronest and is committed to respecting democracy, human rights
and the rule of law, which are core values of these initiatives,
B. whereas since 15 July 2010 negotiations have been launched on an
EU-Azerbaijan Association Agreement based on joint commitments to
a set of shared values, covering a wide range of areas, including
political dialogue, justice, freedom and security, as well as trade
and cooperation in sectoral policies,
C. whereas although, according to the joint statement of the Election
Observation Mission composed by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European
Parliament, the 7 November parliamentary elections in the Republic
of Azerbaijan were characterised by a peaceful atmosphere and all
opposition parties participated in the political process, nonetheless
the conduct of these elections overall was not sufficient to constitute
meaningful progress in the democratic development of the country,
D. whereas a wide-ranging clampdown on freedom of expression and
assembly is being carried out in Azerbaijan following the peaceful
protests against the government on 11 March and 2 April 2011; whereas
the clampdown includes arrests, harassment and intimidation of civil
society activists, media professionals and opposition politicians
in Azerbaijan,
E. whereas the cases of the activists Jabbar Savalan and Bakhtiyar
Hajiev are of particular concern; whereas Mr Savalan, a member of
the youth group of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), and
Mr Hajiyev, an activist and former parliamentary candidate, were
apparently targeted for using Facebook to call for demonstrations
against the government; whereas Mr Savalan was sentenced to two and a
half years in prison for allegedly possessing drugs; whereas Mr Hajiev
was arrested on 4 March after calling on Facebook for demonstrations
against the government and now faces two years in jail for allegedly
evading military service; whereas serious doubts exist as regards
the fairness of the trials of Mr Savalan and Mr Hajiyev,
F. whereas in mid-March Azerbaijani courts sentenced at least 30 people
who took part in those peaceful protests to between 5 and 8 days in
prison in late-night trials that were closed to the public; whereas
most defendants did not have access to counsel of their choosing;
whereas the police refused to allow detainees to contact lawyers and
whereas lawyers for some of the defendants did not know when or where
the trials were being held,
G. whereas around 200 activists were arrested on 2 April 2011,
including the head of the Youth Organisation of the Musavat Party,
Tural Abbasli,
H. whereas the Human Rights House Azerbaijan, which is a member of
the International Human Rights House Network, registered in Azerbaijan
in May 2007, was closed down by the authorities following an order of
the Ministry of Justice issued on 10 March 2011; whereas the Ministry
justified the closure by reference to a breach by the organisation
of the Azerbaijani Law on Non-Governmental Organisations,
I. whereas the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Republic
of Azerbaijan to release the jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev
from prison and to pay him EUR 25 000 in moral damages,
J. whereas Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe and a
party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well as a
number of other international human rights treaties, including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1. Expresses
its deep concern at the increasing number of incidents of harassment,
attacks and violence against civil society and social network activists
and journalists in Azerbaijan;
2. Strongly deplores the practice of intimidating, arresting,
prosecuting and convicting independent journalists and political
activists on various criminal charges;
3. Deplores the arrest of around 200 people prior to, and during,
the anti-government protests of 2 April 2011 in Baku; calls on the
Azerbaijani authorities to allow peaceful protest as well as freedom of
assembly, which are central tenets of an open and democratic society;
deplores the physical violence used against protesters;
4. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all members of the
opposition, youth activists and bloggers remaining in custody after
the peaceful demonstrations of 11 March and 2 and 17 April 2011, to
release Mr Savalan and Mr Hajiyev and to drop the charges against them;
calls on the Government of Azerbaijan to respect the international
conventions that it has ratified by respecting freedom of expression;
5. Urges the authorities to safeguard all necessary conditions to
allow the media, including opposition media, to operate, so that
journalists can work and report freely without any pressure, and to
pay special attention to the safety of journalists; in this regard
recalls the pledge given by President Ilham Aliyev in 2005, in which
he asserted that the rights of every journalist were protected and
defended by the State;
6. Expresses its concern at reports of threats in prison against
newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev, the deterioration in his health
which has been exacerbated and denial of access to medical care,
and calls for his immediate release;
7. Is worried about the worsening human rights situation in the
Republic of Azerbaijan; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to
safeguard the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and other
international treaties to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party
and to respect OSCE and Council of Europe commitments;
8. Deplores recent written 'termination of activity' warnings sent from
the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry to the National Democratic Institute
and the Human Rights House Network and urges, in this respect, the
Azerbaijani authorities to allow the latter organisation to continue
its activities in the country without any further hindrance;
9. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to maintain a dialogue with
members of civil-society organisations and to take all steps to allow
individuals to freely engage in peaceful, democratic activities and to
allow activists to organise freely and without government interference;
10. Encourages the Azerbaijani authorities to allow peaceful
demonstrations to take place in relevant locations and urges them
to refrain from intimidating the organisers by detaining them and
charging them with criminal and other offences; regrets that some
youth activists have been expelled from Baku State University after
missing examinations while in police custody linked to their political
activities;
11. Welcomes the recent release from jail of the two bloggers Adnan
Hajizade and Emin Abdullayev (Milli);
12. Considers access to information and communication technologies,
including free and uncensored access to the internet, essential for
the development of democracy and the rule of law and as a means of
promoting exchanges and communication between the Azerbaijanis and
the EU;
13. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to address shortcomings
identified by the OSCE/ODIHR final report on the parliamentary
elections and expects further cooperation with the Venice Commission
to ensure that Azerbaijan's electoral legislation is fully in line
with international norms and standards;
14. Calls for renewed efforts by Azerbaijan to implement in full
during its final year the ENP Action Plan and on the Commission to
continue to assist Azerbaijan in such efforts;
15. Welcomes the establishment of the new subcommittees of the
EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Committee, which will strengthen the
institutional framework for discussions in the field of justice,
freedom and security and on respect for human rights and democracy;
16. Welcomes the Azerbaijani contribution to the Eastern Partnership
and the participation of the delegation from the Milli Majlis in the
inaugural session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the High
Representative / Vice-President of the Commission, the Council, the
Commission, the President, Government and Parliament of Azerbaijan
and the OSCE/ODIHR.
asbarez
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
European Parliament
BRUSSELS-The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution
unanimously condemning Azerbaijan continued human rights violations and
Baku's oppression of opposition forces and press during its plenary
convened in Strasbourg, reported the European Armenian Federation
for Justice and Democracy.
During oral discussion at the plenary session, representatives of
all political factions strongly condemened Azerbaijan's executive
and judicial branches for their continued breach of human rights norms.
The European Parliament also stressed that European Union should not
bow to Aliyev's regime because of Azerbaijan's import of oil and gas.
Under the basic freedoms, human rights and democracy agenda item
members of parliament discussed and unanimously approved the resolution
condemning Azerbaijan for "the increasing number of incidents of
harassment, attacks and violence against civil society and social
network activists and journalists in Azerbaijan."
The resolution "strongly deplores the practice of intimidating,
arresting, prosecuting and convicting independent journalists and
political activists on various criminal charges."
The European Parliament also urged the authorities of Azerbaijan
"to safeguard all necessary conditions to allow the media, including
opposition media, to operate, so that journalists can work and report
freely without any pressure, and to pay special attention to the
safety of journalists; in this regard recalls the pledge given by
President Ilham Aliyev in 2005, in which he asserted that the rights
of every journalist were protected and defended by the State."
The resolution expressed deep concern about "the worsening human rights
situation in the Republic of Azerbaijan; calls on the Azerbaijani
authorities to safeguard the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
and other international treaties to which the Republic of Azerbaijan
is a party and to respect OSCE and Council of Europe commitments."
Below is the complete text of the resolution:
European Parliament resolution of 12 May 2011 on Azerbaijan
The European Parliament, - having regard to its previous resolutions
on Azerbaijan, in particular that of 17 December 2009 ,
- having regard to its resolutions of 20 May 2010 on the need for an
EU strategy for the South Caucasus, of 7 April 2011 on the review
of the European Neighbourhood Policy - Eastern Dimension and of 20
January 2011 on an EU Strategy for the Black Sea,
- having regard to the statement by the spokesperson of the
Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy of 18
April 2011 and the statement by the EU Delegation office in Baku of
10 March 2011,
- having regard to the conclusions of the Eastern Partnership Foreign
Ministers'meeting of 13 December 2010,
- having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between
the EC and Azerbaijan which entered into force in 1999,
- having regard to the statements of the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media on the attack on journalists of 10 March 2011
and of 28 March 2011,
- having regard to the report by the ODIHR Election Observation
Mission on the parliamentary elections of 7 November 2010,
- having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Azerbaijan is actively participating in the European
Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, is a founding member
of Euronest and is committed to respecting democracy, human rights
and the rule of law, which are core values of these initiatives,
B. whereas since 15 July 2010 negotiations have been launched on an
EU-Azerbaijan Association Agreement based on joint commitments to
a set of shared values, covering a wide range of areas, including
political dialogue, justice, freedom and security, as well as trade
and cooperation in sectoral policies,
C. whereas although, according to the joint statement of the Election
Observation Mission composed by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European
Parliament, the 7 November parliamentary elections in the Republic
of Azerbaijan were characterised by a peaceful atmosphere and all
opposition parties participated in the political process, nonetheless
the conduct of these elections overall was not sufficient to constitute
meaningful progress in the democratic development of the country,
D. whereas a wide-ranging clampdown on freedom of expression and
assembly is being carried out in Azerbaijan following the peaceful
protests against the government on 11 March and 2 April 2011; whereas
the clampdown includes arrests, harassment and intimidation of civil
society activists, media professionals and opposition politicians
in Azerbaijan,
E. whereas the cases of the activists Jabbar Savalan and Bakhtiyar
Hajiev are of particular concern; whereas Mr Savalan, a member of
the youth group of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), and
Mr Hajiyev, an activist and former parliamentary candidate, were
apparently targeted for using Facebook to call for demonstrations
against the government; whereas Mr Savalan was sentenced to two and a
half years in prison for allegedly possessing drugs; whereas Mr Hajiev
was arrested on 4 March after calling on Facebook for demonstrations
against the government and now faces two years in jail for allegedly
evading military service; whereas serious doubts exist as regards
the fairness of the trials of Mr Savalan and Mr Hajiyev,
F. whereas in mid-March Azerbaijani courts sentenced at least 30 people
who took part in those peaceful protests to between 5 and 8 days in
prison in late-night trials that were closed to the public; whereas
most defendants did not have access to counsel of their choosing;
whereas the police refused to allow detainees to contact lawyers and
whereas lawyers for some of the defendants did not know when or where
the trials were being held,
G. whereas around 200 activists were arrested on 2 April 2011,
including the head of the Youth Organisation of the Musavat Party,
Tural Abbasli,
H. whereas the Human Rights House Azerbaijan, which is a member of
the International Human Rights House Network, registered in Azerbaijan
in May 2007, was closed down by the authorities following an order of
the Ministry of Justice issued on 10 March 2011; whereas the Ministry
justified the closure by reference to a breach by the organisation
of the Azerbaijani Law on Non-Governmental Organisations,
I. whereas the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Republic
of Azerbaijan to release the jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev
from prison and to pay him EUR 25 000 in moral damages,
J. whereas Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe and a
party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well as a
number of other international human rights treaties, including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1. Expresses
its deep concern at the increasing number of incidents of harassment,
attacks and violence against civil society and social network activists
and journalists in Azerbaijan;
2. Strongly deplores the practice of intimidating, arresting,
prosecuting and convicting independent journalists and political
activists on various criminal charges;
3. Deplores the arrest of around 200 people prior to, and during,
the anti-government protests of 2 April 2011 in Baku; calls on the
Azerbaijani authorities to allow peaceful protest as well as freedom of
assembly, which are central tenets of an open and democratic society;
deplores the physical violence used against protesters;
4. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all members of the
opposition, youth activists and bloggers remaining in custody after
the peaceful demonstrations of 11 March and 2 and 17 April 2011, to
release Mr Savalan and Mr Hajiyev and to drop the charges against them;
calls on the Government of Azerbaijan to respect the international
conventions that it has ratified by respecting freedom of expression;
5. Urges the authorities to safeguard all necessary conditions to
allow the media, including opposition media, to operate, so that
journalists can work and report freely without any pressure, and to
pay special attention to the safety of journalists; in this regard
recalls the pledge given by President Ilham Aliyev in 2005, in which
he asserted that the rights of every journalist were protected and
defended by the State;
6. Expresses its concern at reports of threats in prison against
newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev, the deterioration in his health
which has been exacerbated and denial of access to medical care,
and calls for his immediate release;
7. Is worried about the worsening human rights situation in the
Republic of Azerbaijan; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to
safeguard the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and other
international treaties to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party
and to respect OSCE and Council of Europe commitments;
8. Deplores recent written 'termination of activity' warnings sent from
the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry to the National Democratic Institute
and the Human Rights House Network and urges, in this respect, the
Azerbaijani authorities to allow the latter organisation to continue
its activities in the country without any further hindrance;
9. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to maintain a dialogue with
members of civil-society organisations and to take all steps to allow
individuals to freely engage in peaceful, democratic activities and to
allow activists to organise freely and without government interference;
10. Encourages the Azerbaijani authorities to allow peaceful
demonstrations to take place in relevant locations and urges them
to refrain from intimidating the organisers by detaining them and
charging them with criminal and other offences; regrets that some
youth activists have been expelled from Baku State University after
missing examinations while in police custody linked to their political
activities;
11. Welcomes the recent release from jail of the two bloggers Adnan
Hajizade and Emin Abdullayev (Milli);
12. Considers access to information and communication technologies,
including free and uncensored access to the internet, essential for
the development of democracy and the rule of law and as a means of
promoting exchanges and communication between the Azerbaijanis and
the EU;
13. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to address shortcomings
identified by the OSCE/ODIHR final report on the parliamentary
elections and expects further cooperation with the Venice Commission
to ensure that Azerbaijan's electoral legislation is fully in line
with international norms and standards;
14. Calls for renewed efforts by Azerbaijan to implement in full
during its final year the ENP Action Plan and on the Commission to
continue to assist Azerbaijan in such efforts;
15. Welcomes the establishment of the new subcommittees of the
EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Committee, which will strengthen the
institutional framework for discussions in the field of justice,
freedom and security and on respect for human rights and democracy;
16. Welcomes the Azerbaijani contribution to the Eastern Partnership
and the participation of the delegation from the Milli Majlis in the
inaugural session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the High
Representative / Vice-President of the Commission, the Council, the
Commission, the President, Government and Parliament of Azerbaijan
and the OSCE/ODIHR.