Azerbaijan - Time to Free the Political Prisoners

AZERBAIJAN--TIME TO FREE THE POLITICAL PRISONERS -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 14, 2006)

SPEECH OF
HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2006

* Mrs. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice goes to New York for the opening of the 61st United Nations General Assembly she is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan. His country is becoming an important geo-strategic player in the Caspian region and Central Asia. It has worked closely with the United States on the critical oil pipeline from the Caspian to the Mediterranean and other issues.

* There are some important obstacles to realizing the full potential of our strategic relationship with Azerbaijan. Of particular concern is the deteriorating human rights situation and the growing number of political prisoners in that country's jails.

* During her confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations earlier this year, Ambassador Anne Derse stressed the importance the United States attaches to freedom, democracy and human rights as high priorities in our relationship with Azerbaijan. The Bush administration's emphasis on the critical importance for nurturing democracy, not only in bringing freedom to people but in helping make this a safer world at a time of growing threat from Islamofascism, is of particular concern in Central Asia. Azerbaijan is a secular Muslim state, thus making the development of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law ever more critical in such an unstable region of the world.

* Azerbaijan is also an important American interest in energy and security cooperation. As our economic and political cooperation grow, our relations with Azerbaijan become more critical. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has spoken of his commitment to democracy but, unfortunately, the gap between promise and performance is widening, not shrinking.

* I am particularly concerned about the need for an independent judiciary, commitment to the rule of law and a transparent justice system. An alarming number of political prisoners are held in Azeri jails, most notably former Minister of Economic Development Farhad Aliyev and his brother Rafiq Aliyev (The brothers are no relation to President Aliyev). Farad Aliyev was arrested on trumped-up political charges of planning a coup, and to that was later added a charge of murdering the editor ofMonitor magazine, Elmar Huseynov. The actual confessed murderer, Haji Mammadov, a former official of the Interior Ministry's Criminal Investigation Department, reportedly accused Farhad Aliyev of ordering the killing. Independent media reports demonstrate that the accusation is not taken seriously and believed to have been pushed on the killer, perhaps in a deal for a lighter sentence, as part of the government's desire to strengthen its weak case against Aliyev and eliminate a potential rival for the president.

* Mr. Speaker, I urge Secretary of State Rice to take up this matter at the United Nations with Foreign Minister Mammadyarov and stress that the United States seeks assurances that all political prisoners are allowed free access to counsel of their choice, are safe and provided all necessary health care, receive humane treatment and, if it goes that far, receive a free, fair and public trial. More appropriately, they should be freed at once as a demonstration of Azerbaijan's commitment to democratic reform and respect for human rights and the rule of law.

* The Azeri Democracy Initiative, a non-partisan, international non-profit organization headquartered in Washington and dedicated to strengthening U.S.-Azerbaijan ties on a basis of shared values, has joined in calling on the European Court of Human Rights to investigate the politically-motivated arrest of Farhad Aliyev, the reformist former Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan.

* The case before the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg was filed by a group of British lawyers and alleges human rights abuses. They pointed out that Azerbaijan, as a member of the Council of Europe, is legally obligated to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights as a condition of membership of the Council of Europe.

* Lord Lester QC, one of Europe's leading barristers on human rights issues, said the brothers were detained arbitrarily, put in solitary confinement and held ``without justification''. He has been denied access to the men.

* ``The Aliyev cases illustrate how far the Republic of Azerbaijan has to change before it can be regarded as a truly democratic state respecting the European rule of law and the fundamental human rights and freedoms of its citizens,'' Lord Lester added.

* Many members of the brothers' families, business associates and acquaintances have been ``harassed, arrested and persecuted following Farhad and Rafiq's arrests,'' according to Lucy James, one of the London attorneys. ``Many have been detained on trumped up charges or without charge'' and many have reportedly lost their jobs.

* Mr. Speaker, I urge the Secretary of State and Ambassador Derse in Baku to raise this critical human rights issue at the highest levels and call for the freedom of political prisoners.

http://thomas.loc.gov