TIGHTENING the SCREWS Azerbaijan’S Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent WATCH
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HUMAN RIGHTS TIGHTENING THE SCREWS Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent WATCH Tightening the Screws Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-0473 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org SEPTEMBER 2013 978-1-62313-0473 Tightening the Screws Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Arrest and Imprisonment .......................................................................................................... 1 Bogus Charges and Other Due Process Irregularities ................................................................ 2 Targeting of Journalists and Attacks on Freedom of Expression .................................................. 3 Targeting of NGOs ..................................................................................................................... 3 Restrictions on Freedom of Assembly ........................................................................................4 What Should be Done? .............................................................................................................4 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 7 I. Background ..................................................................................................................... 9 Azerbaijan’s Political Landscape .............................................................................................. 9 No Checks and Balances ......................................................................................................... 10 Impact of Arab Spring, Eurovision Protests, and Social Media ................................................. 11 Hydrocarbon Wealth and Lack of Accountability ...................................................................... 12 Corruption .............................................................................................................................. 14 II. Imprisonment and Harassment of Political Activists ...................................................... 15 Ilgar Mammadov and Tofig Yagublu ........................................................................................ 15 Yadigar Sadigov ..................................................................................................................... 17 NIDA Youth Activists ............................................................................................................... 19 Misuse of Narcotics Charges .................................................................................................. 26 Harassment and Intimidation.................................................................................................. 31 III. Crackdown on the Media ............................................................................................. 34 Defamation ............................................................................................................................ 34 Criminalization of Online Defamation ...................................................................................... 35 Prosecution of Journalists ....................................................................................................... 36 Assault and Harassment of Journalists .................................................................................... 42 Azerbaijan’s Legal Obligations on Freedom of Expression ...................................................... 49 IV. Imprisonment and Harassment of Human Rights Defenders and Lawyers ..................... 51 Bakhtiyar Mammadov ............................................................................................................. 51 Oktay Gulaliyev and Ilham Amiraslanov .................................................................................. 52 Taleh Khasmammadov ........................................................................................................... 53 Aslan Ismayilov ...................................................................................................................... 54 International Standards on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders .................................... 55 V. Pressure on Nongovernmental Organizations ............................................................... 56 Hostile Rhetoric ...................................................................................................................... 57 New Requirements on NGO Funding ........................................................................................ 58 Impact of the Amendments .................................................................................................... 60 Difficulties of Registration: Case of Human Rights Club ........................................................... 61 Suspension of Registration: Case of the Azerbaijan Human Rights House ............................... 62 Hostile Climate for NGOs ....................................................................................................... 64 Azerbaijan’s Legal Obligations on Freedom of Association ..................................................... 66 VI. Public Assemblies ....................................................................................................... 69 Freedom of Assembly Prior to the New Amendments .............................................................. 69 New Penalties for Offenses Related to Public Assemblies ........................................................ 70 Increased Fines and Confiscation of Property .......................................................................... 71 Police Violence and Arrests in Relation to Unauthorized, Peaceful Protests in Baku ................ 73 VII. International Responses to Azerbaijan’s Deteriorating Human Rights Situation ......... 77 Council of Europe ................................................................................................................... 77 European Union ..................................................................................................................... 80 United Nations ....................................................................................................................... 83 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe .............................................................. 83 United States ......................................................................................................................... 85 VIII. Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 87 To the Azerbaijani Government ............................................................................................... 87 To Azerbaijan’s International Partners, Particularly the European Union, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the United Nations, and Other Concerned States ....................................................... 89 Specific Additional Recommendations to the European Union ................................................ 90 Specific Additional Recommendations to the Council of Europe ............................................. 90 Specific Additional Recommendations to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ................................................................................................................................ 91 Specific Additional Recommendations to the United Nations .................................................. 91 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 92 Appendix: Communication with Azerbaijani Government Officials .................................... 93 Summary Azerbaijan’s record on freedom of expression, assembly, and association has been on a steady decline for some years, but it has seen a dramatic deterioration since mid-2012. Since then the government has been engaged in a concerted effort to curtail opposition political activity, punish public allegations of corruption and other criticism of government practices, and exercise greater control over nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). It has done so by arresting and imprisoning dozens of political activists on bogus charges, adopting restrictive legislative amendments, consistently breaking