Sport For Rights: Joint Statement: Anniversary of Leyla Yunus' arrest marks one year of unprecedented repression in Azerbaijan
Sport For Rights: Joint Statement: Anniversary of human rights defender’s arrest marks one year of unprecedented repression in Azerbaijan
A year after the Azerbaijanigovernment launched an unprecedented crackdown on human rights, the situationin the country continues to deteriorate. The Sport for Rights Coalition callson the international community to immediately and publicly condemn thegovernment of Azerbaijan's actions and take concrete steps to supportAzerbaijani civil society.
One year ago, on 30 July 2014, Azerbaijani humanrights defender Leyla Yunus wasarrested and charged with treason, fraud, forgery, tax evasion, and illegalentrepreneurship. Yunus, the Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy,was a tireless rights advocate, likely targeted for her work on behalf ofAzerbaijan’s many political prisoners, and her call for a boycott of theinaugural European Games, which took place in Baku in June 2015.
Yunus’s arrest marked the start of a period ofunprecedented repression in Azerbaijan. The human rights situation in thecountry has now reached alarming lows as the authorities aggressively pursuethe very individuals who worked to defend those already targeted for expressingcritical opinions.
On 2 August 2014, human rights defender andfounder of the Sport for Rights campaign RasulJafarov was arrested on charges of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion,and abuse of power. On 5 August 2014, Leyla Yunus’s husband Arif Yunus, a historian and activist inhis own right, was arrested, followed by human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev on 8 August 2014, onsimilar charges.
Also on 8 August 2014, authorities searched and closed the office ofAzerbaijan’s leading press freedom organisation, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), as part of awider criminal investigation into a large group of NGOs working on issuesrelated to democracy and human rights. IRFS Chairman Emin Huseynov sought refuge in the Swiss Embassy in Baku, where heremained for 10 months, fearing arrest. On 12 June, Huseynov flew out ofAzerbaijan on the plane of Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, whoattended the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku.
For many years now, the Azerbaijani authoritieshave employed a range of tactics to silence critical voices, from physicalattacks and torture to blackmail and imprisonment. In Huseynov’s case, however,they introduced an outrageous new tactic. In an unprecedented step, in violationof international and Azerbaijani law, the government stripped Huseynov of hisAzerbaijani citizenship. He has become a stateless person, left with no choicebut to apply for asylum in Switzerland.
Many other human rights defenders andjournalists have fled Azerbaijan out of fear for their safety. The Sport forRights coalition fears that without widespread international condemnation, thesame tactic could be applied to others, with the nationality of “unwelcome”activists renounced.
“The international community must keep itsfocus on Azerbaijan as the worst for the bravest, independent-mindedindividuals – both the ones remaining on the ground and those forced into exile– may be yet to come”, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator NinaOgnianova said. “The Azerbaijani regime is known for punishing its critics inthe aftermath of the global mega events it has hosted, and the illegal,retaliatory renouncing of Emin Huseynov’s citizenship is an illustration ofthat. So is the harassment of the few remaining independent journalists in thecountry and the intimidation of the families of those pushed into exile”.
In a renewed assault against civil society, theAzerbaijani authorities have increasingly been targeting the family members ofexiled activists. Ganimat Zahid, theeditor-in-chief of Azadliq newspaperwho has been in political exile since being forced to flee Azerbaijan in 2011,has seen the persecution of family members who remain in the country. Hiscousin and two nephews were arrested on charges varying from “refusing tocomply with police instructions” to drug possession. Most recently, on 23 July,the authorities arrested the brother-in-law of Emin Milli – the Director of Meydan TV and a whistleblower in politicalexile – on similar drug charges. He faces up to 12 years in jail if convicted.
“This is a clear and worryingescalation of the Azerbaijani authorities' crackdown on free expression”, saidARTICLE 19 Executive Director Thomas Hughes. “When those reporting the truth donot bend to intimidation, the authorities start detaining their family membersand loved ones as a way to silence criticism entirely. This is a completelyunacceptable attack on human rights in general, and specifically on freespeech”.
Now, as international media attention hasshifted from the country following the European Games, the broader human rightscrackdown continues. The jailed Azerbaijani rights defenders are facing showtrials marred by irregularity and due process violations, carried out by a judiciarythat completely lacks independence. Although the charges against these rightsdefenders are spurious and politically motivated, they have no hope of fair andimpartial trials.
On 15 July, a preparatory hearing was held in thecase of Leyla and Arif Yunus, withthe substantive portion starting on 27 July. After nearly a year of pre-trialdetention, Leyla Yunus appeared ill and fatigued, and was kept in an isolated glasscage during the hearing. It was also the first time she has seen her husbandArif after many months of separation in different detention facilities.
On 21 July,the Baku Court of Appeals upheld the 22 April decision of the Court of GraveCrimes in the case of award-winning human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, leaving him in jail to finish his 7.5-yearsentence. Aliyev was one of the few lawyers in Azerbaijan willing to take onhuman rights cases. He has filed hundreds of cases with the European Court ofHuman Rights, and had more than a dozen cases pending hearing at the time ofhis arrest.
"Intiqam Aliyev, the 2012laureate of People in Need’s Homo Homini Award, is one of the bravest and most honestlawyers in the region, and has been punished solely for his human rights work.His continued imprisonment, following a sham trial, is a sad reminder thatAzerbaijan’s justice system is broken and completely dependent on the politicalwill of the government", said Ivana Skalova, head of the East EuropeanProgramme at the Prague-based NGO People in Need.
On 24 July, a preparatory hearing took place inthe case of award-winning investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, jailed since December 2014 on charges of incitingsomeone to attempt suicide, with more serious charges later added ofembezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of power.Ismayilova was one of the few journalists in Azerbaijan willing to cover riskytopics such as corruption of the ruling elite.
“We condemn the ongoingimprisonment of Khadija, who has spent nearly eight months in detention asauthorities attempt to suppress the most vibrant voices reporting fromAzerbaijan”, said Karin Karlekar, director of Free Expression Programs at PENAmerican Center. “The charges against her are clearly fabricated, and we urgethe government to respect the right to freedom of expression and allow her andother independent journalists to do their jobs freely”.
On 31July, Rasul Jafarov will appeal the16 April decision of the Court of Grave Crimes, sentencing him to 6.5 years injail. He is also prohibited from holding any office for three years. During thefirst-instance trial, all of the prosecution’s witnesses testified in his favour,and the prosecution failed to prove his guilt. After the verdict, Jafarovreiterated that the charges against him were fabricated and politicallymotivated.
AsChairman of the Human Rights Club and founder of the Sing for Democracy, Artfor Democracy, and Sport for Rights campaigns, Jafarov worked to defend therights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. Just prior to hisarrest in August 2014, he had published information on more than 100 cases ofpolitical prisoners in Azerbaijan.
As members of the Sport for Rights coalition,we urge the Azerbaijani authorities to cease this crackdown and take concretesteps to improve the human rights situation in the country. We reiterate ourcall for the immediate and unconditional release of Leyla and Arif Yunus, RasulJafarov, Intigam Aliyev, and Khadija Ismayilova, along with the other jailedjournalists and human rights defenders. We further express deep concern at thesevere deterioration in health of Leyla and Arif Yunus, who require urgent medicalattention and should be immediately released on humanitarian, if not politicalgrounds.
We also urge the international community tosustain attention to Azerbaijan in the coming months, as the few criticalvoices left in the country are at elevated risk in the aftermath of theEuropean Games and in the run-up to the November parliamentary elections.Immediate and concrete action is needed to protect and support theseindividuals and to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its international humanrights obligations.
Supporting organisations:
89up
ARTICLE 19
Committee to Protect Journalists
Index on Censorship
InternationalFederation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders
International Media Support
Pen American Centre
People in Need
Platform
Solidarity with Belarus Information Office
WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatoryfor the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
