URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

New information

AZE 001 / 0808 / OBS 139.8
Death in detention / Impunity

Azerbaijan

October 12, 2011

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Azerbaijan.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the outcome of the proceedings that followed the death in detention of Mr. Novruzali Mammadov, an advocate of the rights of the Talish minority living in the south of Azerbaijan, Head of the Talysh Cultural Center, Editor-in-chief of the Tolishi-Sedo (Voice of the Talysh) newspaper, and Department Head of the Linguistics Institute at the Academy of Sciences on August 17, 2009.

According to the information received, on October 6, 2011, the Supreme Court dismissed the civil complaint for damages for violation of the right to life filed by Ms. Mariame Mammadov, widow of Mr. Novruzali Mammadov, thus upholding the decision of the Court of Appeal. This decision is final.

The Observatory considers that the circumstances of the death of Mr. Novruzali Mammadov in detention remain suspicious and that the authorities of Azerbaijan have failed to investigate thoroughly and impartially into Mr. Novruzali Mammadov's death, to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law. The Observatory fears that the right of Mr. Mammadov's family to a fair trial has not been effectively guaranteed due to Mr. Mammadov's human rights activities.

The Observatory urges the authorities of Azerbaijan to reopen the investigation regarding the circumstances of the death of Mr. Novruzali Mammadov in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law.

Background Information:

On February 2, 2007, Mr. Novruzali Mammadov was called to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he was kept for several days without explanations, underwent beatings and was interrogated because he took part in a scientific conference in Iran in 2004. After a short release, he was detained at the Investigation Isolation Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he allegedly underwent physical and psychological pressure for 15 days with the aim to force him to confess the acts of “espionage” for Iran.

On February 17, 2007, he was accused of high treason for espionage under Article 274 of the Criminal Code and was arrested. On June 24, 2008, the Grave Crime Court sentenced him to ten years in prison, arguing that Mr. Mammadov had collected “information necessary for the establishment of an administrative autonomy in the territories of Azerbaijan compactly populated by Talysh people”, and had spread a negative image of Azerbaijan abroad through appeals submitted to international organisations relating to “violations of the human rights of the Talysh people”.

On December 26, 2008, the Baku Appeal Court confirmed the sentence of Mr. Novruzali Mammadov to ten years in prison for “high treason” and “inciting national, racial, and religious hatred”.

On January 14, 2009, Mr. Novruzali Mammedov was transferred from the Pre-Trial Detention Centre No 1 of Bailov to the Strict Regime Colony No 15. He was then immediately placed in a punishment cell for 15 days for “breach of order”, being deprived of bed and warm clothes.

On May 27, 2009, the cassation complaint of Mr. Mammadov against the December 26, 2008 decision of the Baku Appeal Chamber was rejected by the Supreme Court. Mr. Mammadov's lawyer appealed this ruling to the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR).

On June 22, 2009, Mr. Novruzali Mammadov's wife and his son Mr. Emil Mammadov visited him in high security colony No 15. They reported that his health had seriously deteriorated and that he was suffering from, among others, a cataract, a prostate tumour, and thyroid problems.

On July 28, Mr. Mammadov was transferred from the Strict Regime Colony No15 to the Neurology Department of the Justice Ministry's Penitentiary Services Central Hospital. Yet, his health continued to deteriorate. Sanitary conditions would have been very bad and Mr. Mammadov would not have been given any treatment or pain relief by hospital staff. Mr. Mammadov complained to representatives of the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan about his conditions and the lack of medical treatment.

In early August, Ms. Veronika Kotek, Council of Europe's Special Representative in Azerbaijan, visited Mr. Novruzali Mammadov in the hospital. She had a conversation with the hospital administration and physicians, who said that Mr. Mammadov’s health condition was of medium severity, and the hospital’s administration rejected Ms. Kotek’s proposal to invite European doctors to examine Mr. Mammadov.

The health of Mr. Mammadov, aged 70, had seriously deteriorated in detention centre No. 15, particularly because of the ill-treatments he suffered when he was placed in solitary confinement. On July 28, 2009, he was transferred to the neurological department of the prison’s central hospital, run by the Ministry of Justice, where he received no care, despite repeated appeals to transfer Mr. Mammadov to a facility providing adequate medical treatment. On August 17, 2009, Mr. Novruzali Mammadov died in detention.

Following his death, his wife and son filed a criminal complaint against the Ministry of Finance, the Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice, the medical director for the Department of Justice, the administration of the colony prison No. 15, and the central prison hospital of the Ministry of Justice for “endangering the lives of others”.

However, on September 29, 2009, the Prosecutor for the Nizami District of Baku refused to open a criminal investigation. Mr. Mammadov’s family then challenged the decision. The Court of the Nizami District, then in the second instance the Court of Appeal in Baku, on November 17, 2009, rejected the appeal.

A civil complaint was also filed by the widow and the son of Mr. Novruzali Mammadov against the same institutions following their refusal to compensate the family of Mr. Mammadov. On October 15, 2009, a review of this complaint was opened in the Nashimi District Court but, on January 27, 2010, the Nasimi District Court decided to stop the civil lawsuit filed for violation of the right to life. The hearing before the Nasimi District Court had been postponed until the result of the examination, which came out on January 26, 2010, stating that the medical treatment given to Mr. Mammadov while in detention was appropriate. The plaintiffs’ lawyer appealed against this decision.

On April 29, 2011, the Baku Appeals Court upheld the decision of Nasimi District Court of January 27, 2010. Ms. Mariame Mammadov appealed this decision before the Supreme Court.

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan, urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Azerbaijan and their families;

ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into Mr. Novruzali Mammadov's death in detention in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;

iii. Guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to Mr. Novruzali Mammadov's relatives;

iv. Put an end to the harassment against all human rights defenders in Azerbaijan;

v. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as its Article 12.2, which provides that the State shall “take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights”;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Azerbaijan.

Addresses:

· Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19 Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 492 06 25, +994 412 92 28 68, E-mail: office@pa.gov.az, office@apparat.gov.az, root@lider.baku.az

· Prosecutor’s Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 492 06 82, +994 12 492 26 63, E-mail: eldar_sultanov@prosecutor.gov.az

· Mr. Ramil Usubov, Minister of Home Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, Fax: + 994 12 492 45 90

· Mr. Fikrat F. Mammadov, Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan, Prospekt Stroitelej, 1 Baku, Azerbaijan, e-mail: mincus@azdata.net, contact@justice.gov.az; Tel (99412) 430 09 77, Fax + 99412 430 09 81

· Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the United Nations in Geneva, Route des Fayards 237, CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland, E-mail: geneva@mission.mfa.gov.az Fax: +4122 901 18 44

· Azerbaijani Embassy in Brussels, Avenue Moliere, 464, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 345 26 60, Fax: +32 2 345 91 85

Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Azerbaijan in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic missions or embassies in Azerbaijan.

***

Paris-Geneva, October 12, 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29