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AZERBAIJAN DETAINS ACTIVISTS AMID KARABAKH TENSIONS
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #748
Aug 15 2014
Baku accused of exploiting rising violence to charge dissidents
with treason.
By Shahla Sultanova - Caucasus
Human rights defenders believe Azerbaijan's government is using
heightened tensions around Nagorny Karabakh as an excuse to clamp
down on civil society activists, using accusations of treason to turn
ordinary people against them.
Activists Leyla and Arif Yunus and journalist Rauf Mirqkadirov were
among the few civil activists involved in public diplomacy projects
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, mostly organised by foreign embassies
and international organisations.
They have all now been charged with spying for Armenia, and the
Yunuses are among 24 Azerbaijanis deemed prisoners of conscience by
Amnesty International. (See Activists Arrested In Azeri Crackdown.)
The spate of arrests has come amid the most serious escalation of
violence around Karabakh since the war ended in a ceasefire agreement
two decades ago.(Azeri-Armenian Conflict Fears as Death Toll Rises.)
In Azerbaijan, treason is defined as a deliberate action committed by
a citizen to the detriment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity,
or security of the country. This encompasses defection, espionage
and helping a foreign state or organisation to commit hostile acts
against the republic.
Fariz Namazli, an Azerbaijani lawyer, says this very broad definition
allows the government to press charges against almost anyone.
"The law is unreasonable," he continued. "Based on this article, any
cooperation with foreign organisations can be labelled as treason. The
law should explain what kind of cooperation is betrayal of the state."
Prosecutors said the Yunuses collected information on Azerbaijan's
political, economic and military situation and spread "propaganda
of the need to recognise the independence of the 'Nagorny Karabakh
regime' in exchange for the liberation of the occupied territories".
Jasur Sumerinli, head of the Baku-based military research centre
Doktrina, said the charges were ridiculous. Only defence ministry
employees could have access to confidential documents and maps,
he said.
"Unless someone from the ministry leaked them to Leyla Yunus, she
alone could not get militarily sensitive documents," he said.
He thought the government was exploiting this summer's heightened
tensions around Karabakh, where dozens of Armenian and Azerbaijani
soldiers have died in the worst upsurge of violence in 20 years,
in order to crack down on activists.
Leila Aliyeva, director of the Baku-based Centre for National and
International Studies, said that since Nagorny Karabakh is such a
sensitive issue for Azerbaijanis, it can be successfully used by the
government to smear opponents.
"It doesn't take a lot of effort to sell this to people. That is why
most citizens accept it without question," she said.
>From comments posted on social media, it would seem that many people
have taken the government's accusation at face value. Messages posted
on the BBC Azerbaijani Service's Facebook page accused Leyla Yunus
of betraying her homeland.
Kheyale Khalili, 25, a resident of Ganja, wrote that she hated the
"traitor".
When interviewed by IWPR, Khalili said that she had not heard of
Leyla Yunus before her arrest was announced on television on July 31.
"I am an Azeri. Of course I will be angry about someone collaborating
with Armenians," she said.
State-controlled television remains the dominant source of information
in Azerbaijan. According to a 2013 survey from the Caucasus Research
Resource Centre (CRRC), only 22 per cent of viewers thought the
television news was unreliable.
CRRC survey results also showed that, for the last six years,
most respondents have seen the fate of Nagorny Karabakh as the most
important issue facing the country and almost all of them see Armenia
as Azerbaijan's main enemy.
Last year, only 17 per cent of respondents said it was important for
good citizens to be critical of the government. Trust in President
Ilham Aliyev remained high at 84 per cent.
"If Nagorny Karabakh remains the number one problem our society is
facing, then it is much harder to point to our failing health care, the
poor state of education or human rights abuses," said Jale Sultanli,
a PhD student from Azerbaijan at the School for Conflict Analysis
and Resolution at George Mason University.
Aliyev met his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in Sochi on
August 10 to discuss the conflict. Both presidents said they still
backed a negotiated resolution of the conflict. (See Putin Mediates
Azeri-Armenian Talks on the meeting.)
Sultanli is one of the few experts in the country who thinks ordinary
Azerbaijanis and Armenians should launch their own efforts to help
bring peace between the two countries. In 2010 she established Caucasus
Edition, an online scholarly journal focusing on the conflict.
"There is a group of people across the region who have been working
together for many years now. These individuals and organisations are
the bridges that exist between two societies. Only our presidents can
agree to a solution, but it cannot be implemented without society's
participation and involvement," she said. "There is already minimal
support for public diplomacy efforts and these arrests contribute to
the negative perceptions and create more mistrust about these projects,
and about the organisations and individuals involved in them. It also
creates fear and discourages more people from getting involved."
Shahla Sultanova is a freelance journalist in Azerbaijan.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/azerbaijan-detains-activists-amid-karabakh-tensions
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #748
Aug 15 2014
Baku accused of exploiting rising violence to charge dissidents
with treason.
By Shahla Sultanova - Caucasus
Human rights defenders believe Azerbaijan's government is using
heightened tensions around Nagorny Karabakh as an excuse to clamp
down on civil society activists, using accusations of treason to turn
ordinary people against them.
Activists Leyla and Arif Yunus and journalist Rauf Mirqkadirov were
among the few civil activists involved in public diplomacy projects
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, mostly organised by foreign embassies
and international organisations.
They have all now been charged with spying for Armenia, and the
Yunuses are among 24 Azerbaijanis deemed prisoners of conscience by
Amnesty International. (See Activists Arrested In Azeri Crackdown.)
The spate of arrests has come amid the most serious escalation of
violence around Karabakh since the war ended in a ceasefire agreement
two decades ago.(Azeri-Armenian Conflict Fears as Death Toll Rises.)
In Azerbaijan, treason is defined as a deliberate action committed by
a citizen to the detriment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity,
or security of the country. This encompasses defection, espionage
and helping a foreign state or organisation to commit hostile acts
against the republic.
Fariz Namazli, an Azerbaijani lawyer, says this very broad definition
allows the government to press charges against almost anyone.
"The law is unreasonable," he continued. "Based on this article, any
cooperation with foreign organisations can be labelled as treason. The
law should explain what kind of cooperation is betrayal of the state."
Prosecutors said the Yunuses collected information on Azerbaijan's
political, economic and military situation and spread "propaganda
of the need to recognise the independence of the 'Nagorny Karabakh
regime' in exchange for the liberation of the occupied territories".
Jasur Sumerinli, head of the Baku-based military research centre
Doktrina, said the charges were ridiculous. Only defence ministry
employees could have access to confidential documents and maps,
he said.
"Unless someone from the ministry leaked them to Leyla Yunus, she
alone could not get militarily sensitive documents," he said.
He thought the government was exploiting this summer's heightened
tensions around Karabakh, where dozens of Armenian and Azerbaijani
soldiers have died in the worst upsurge of violence in 20 years,
in order to crack down on activists.
Leila Aliyeva, director of the Baku-based Centre for National and
International Studies, said that since Nagorny Karabakh is such a
sensitive issue for Azerbaijanis, it can be successfully used by the
government to smear opponents.
"It doesn't take a lot of effort to sell this to people. That is why
most citizens accept it without question," she said.
>From comments posted on social media, it would seem that many people
have taken the government's accusation at face value. Messages posted
on the BBC Azerbaijani Service's Facebook page accused Leyla Yunus
of betraying her homeland.
Kheyale Khalili, 25, a resident of Ganja, wrote that she hated the
"traitor".
When interviewed by IWPR, Khalili said that she had not heard of
Leyla Yunus before her arrest was announced on television on July 31.
"I am an Azeri. Of course I will be angry about someone collaborating
with Armenians," she said.
State-controlled television remains the dominant source of information
in Azerbaijan. According to a 2013 survey from the Caucasus Research
Resource Centre (CRRC), only 22 per cent of viewers thought the
television news was unreliable.
CRRC survey results also showed that, for the last six years,
most respondents have seen the fate of Nagorny Karabakh as the most
important issue facing the country and almost all of them see Armenia
as Azerbaijan's main enemy.
Last year, only 17 per cent of respondents said it was important for
good citizens to be critical of the government. Trust in President
Ilham Aliyev remained high at 84 per cent.
"If Nagorny Karabakh remains the number one problem our society is
facing, then it is much harder to point to our failing health care, the
poor state of education or human rights abuses," said Jale Sultanli,
a PhD student from Azerbaijan at the School for Conflict Analysis
and Resolution at George Mason University.
Aliyev met his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in Sochi on
August 10 to discuss the conflict. Both presidents said they still
backed a negotiated resolution of the conflict. (See Putin Mediates
Azeri-Armenian Talks on the meeting.)
Sultanli is one of the few experts in the country who thinks ordinary
Azerbaijanis and Armenians should launch their own efforts to help
bring peace between the two countries. In 2010 she established Caucasus
Edition, an online scholarly journal focusing on the conflict.
"There is a group of people across the region who have been working
together for many years now. These individuals and organisations are
the bridges that exist between two societies. Only our presidents can
agree to a solution, but it cannot be implemented without society's
participation and involvement," she said. "There is already minimal
support for public diplomacy efforts and these arrests contribute to
the negative perceptions and create more mistrust about these projects,
and about the organisations and individuals involved in them. It also
creates fear and discourages more people from getting involved."
Shahla Sultanova is a freelance journalist in Azerbaijan.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/azerbaijan-detains-activists-amid-karabakh-tensions