Azerbaijan
24.04.02
Urgent Interventions
Azerbaijan: arbitrary arrest of Mr. Beylar Quliyev
Case AZE 240402
Arbitrary arrest/ Death in detention
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Azerbaijan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan (AIHMM), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Beylar Quliyev on the night of April 18th, 2002, and of his subsequent violent death following interrogation at the Sabayil district prosecutor’s office in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan.
According to the information received, Mr. Beylar Quliyev, the manager of the music band “Shovket,” was arbitrarily arrested on the night of April 18th, 2002, in connection to an investigation into the circumstances of the assassination of Rovshan Aliyev, chief of the Department of Criminalities of the Republican Prosecutor’s Office. Mr. Quliyev was called to report without an official order to the prosecutor’s office, where he was purportedly arrested without a warrant, and then forcibly taken to the 9th police station in Sabayil district. That night Mr. Quliyev was charged for his alleged resistance to the police under article 311 of the Code of Administrative offences, and he did not have access to a lawyer. This accusation has reportedly been frequently used by the Azerbaijani police to justify the arrest of suspects against who they hold no valid charges.
According to the report, following his arrest, Mr. Beylar Quliyev should have been transferred to the Isolator of Temporary Detention (IVS) where he was to stay for a period of ten days in detention, but instead he was taken back to the prosecutor’s office. He was then subjected to an interrogation, although article 233.3 in the Codes of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic states that interrogations at night are only allowed in urgent cases, and according to the report, this one was not. That night, Mr. Quliyev was taken to a hospital’s reanimation division because he was gravely injured. He died on April 20th, 2002. The official report states that following the interrogation, on circumstances that have currently not been made public, Mr. Quliyev allegedly broke a glass window on the 3rd floor of the prosecutor’s office and jumped out. The results of the forensic examination have not been disclosed. Mr. Quliyev body was returned to his relatives on April 21st, 2002. The circumstances of Mr. Quliyev’s death remain unclear.
According to the information received, the officer in charge of Quliyev’s case has been involved in politically motivated cases, where the prisoners were allegedly subjected to beatings and torture among other violations.
The International Secretariat of OMCT, condemns Mr. Beylar Quliyev’s arbitrary arrest and the procedural violations carried out in connection to his case.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· H.E. Heydar Aleyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19 Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku 370066, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 92 06 25, +994 12 92 28 68, e-mail: office@apparat.gov.az , president@gov.az , root@lider.baku.az
· Mr. Zakir Qaralov, Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan Republic, Prosecutor’s Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 92 06 82, +994 12 92 26 63 E-mail: prosec@azeri.com
Please also write to the embassies of Azerbaijan in your respective country.
Geneva, April 24th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrest/ Death in detention
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Azerbaijan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan (AIHMM), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Beylar Quliyev on the night of April 18th, 2002, and of his subsequent violent death following interrogation at the Sabayil district prosecutor’s office in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan.
According to the information received, Mr. Beylar Quliyev, the manager of the music band “Shovket,” was arbitrarily arrested on the night of April 18th, 2002, in connection to an investigation into the circumstances of the assassination of Rovshan Aliyev, chief of the Department of Criminalities of the Republican Prosecutor’s Office. Mr. Quliyev was called to report without an official order to the prosecutor’s office, where he was purportedly arrested without a warrant, and then forcibly taken to the 9th police station in Sabayil district. That night Mr. Quliyev was charged for his alleged resistance to the police under article 311 of the Code of Administrative offences, and he did not have access to a lawyer. This accusation has reportedly been frequently used by the Azerbaijani police to justify the arrest of suspects against who they hold no valid charges.
According to the report, following his arrest, Mr. Beylar Quliyev should have been transferred to the Isolator of Temporary Detention (IVS) where he was to stay for a period of ten days in detention, but instead he was taken back to the prosecutor’s office. He was then subjected to an interrogation, although article 233.3 in the Codes of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic states that interrogations at night are only allowed in urgent cases, and according to the report, this one was not. That night, Mr. Quliyev was taken to a hospital’s reanimation division because he was gravely injured. He died on April 20th, 2002. The official report states that following the interrogation, on circumstances that have currently not been made public, Mr. Quliyev allegedly broke a glass window on the 3rd floor of the prosecutor’s office and jumped out. The results of the forensic examination have not been disclosed. Mr. Quliyev body was returned to his relatives on April 21st, 2002. The circumstances of Mr. Quliyev’s death remain unclear.
According to the information received, the officer in charge of Quliyev’s case has been involved in politically motivated cases, where the prisoners were allegedly subjected to beatings and torture among other violations.
The International Secretariat of OMCT, condemns Mr. Beylar Quliyev’s arbitrary arrest and the procedural violations carried out in connection to his case.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· H.E. Heydar Aleyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19 Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku 370066, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 92 06 25, +994 12 92 28 68, e-mail: office@apparat.gov.az , president@gov.az , root@lider.baku.az
· Mr. Zakir Qaralov, Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan Republic, Prosecutor’s Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 92 06 82, +994 12 92 26 63 E-mail: prosec@azeri.com
Please also write to the embassies of Azerbaijan in your respective country.
Geneva, April 24th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.