Rasul Jafarov's Conviction
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The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
1 2014 OSCE HUMAN DIMENSION IMPLEMENTATION MEETING September 22 - October 3, 2014 Written contribution of The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Within the framework of their joint programme, The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Under Working session 3: Fundamental freedoms I (continued), including freedom of peaceful assembly and association September 23, 2014 2 The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, wish to draw the attention of the Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the ongoing threats and obstacles faced by human rights defenders in OSCE Participating States. In 2013 and 2014, human rights defenders in Eastern Europe and Central Asia continued to operate in a difficult, and sometimes hostile environment. The situation particularly deteriorated in Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, and the Russian Federation, where the civil society has continued to face acts of reprisals by the authorities and where domestic legal frameworks and practices governing the exercise of the right to freedoms of assembly and association were drastically restricted. In other countries, human rights defenders have continued to be subjected to arbitrary detention following blatantly unfair trials, in particular in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, or to lengthy pre-trial detention, -
A Nnual Report
Annual Report 2013 Content The Norwegian Helsinki Committee Established in 1977 2 The Norwegian Helsinki Committee 3 Perspectives The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) is a non-governmental organisation that works to 4 The NHC Secretariat promote respect for human rights, nationally and internationally. Its work is based on the conviction that documentation and active promotion of human rights by civil society is 5 Organisation needed for states to secure human rights, at home and in other countries. 6 Activities in 2013 7 The Russian Federation NHC bases its work on international human rights instruments adopted by the United 11 Belarus Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. 13 Ukraine 15 South Caucasus The main areas of focus for the NHC are the countries of Europe, North America and 20 Central Asia Central Asia. The NHC works irrespective of ideology or political system in these countries and maintains political neutrality. 23 Western Balkans 27 Turkey 28 Hungary How we work 29 Natalya Estemirova Documentation Centre Human rights monitoring and reporting 30 Human rights in Norway Through monitoring and reporting on problematic human rights situations in specific countries, the NHC sheds light on violations of human rights. The NHC places particular 35 Co-operation and international processes emphasis on civil and political rights, including the fundamental freedoms of expression, 37 EEA Grants belief, association and assembly. On-site research and close co-operation with key civil 38 Information society actors are our main working methods. The NHC has expertise in election observation 38 Finances and has sent numerous observer missions to elections over the last two decades. -
Final-Signatory List-Democracy Letter-23-06-2020.Xlsx
Signatories by Surname Name Affiliation Country Davood Moradian General Director, Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies Afghanistan Rexhep Meidani Former President of Albania Albania Juela Hamati President, European Democracy Youth Network Albania Nassera Dutour President, Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED) Algeria Fatiha Serour United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Somalia; Co-founder, Justice Impact Algeria Rafael Marques de MoraisFounder, Maka Angola Angola Laura Alonso Former Member of Chamber of Deputies; Former Executive Director, Poder Argentina Susana Malcorra Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina; Former Chef de Cabinet to the Argentina Patricia Bullrich Former Minister of Security of Argentina Argentina Mauricio Macri Former President of Argentina Argentina Beatriz Sarlo Journalist Argentina Gerardo Bongiovanni President, Fundacion Libertad Argentina Liliana De Riz Professor, Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo Argentina Flavia Freidenberg Professor, the Institute of Legal Research of the National Autonomous University of Argentina Santiago Cantón Secretary of Human Rights for the Province of Buenos Aires Argentina Haykuhi Harutyunyan Chairperson, Corruption Prevention Commission Armenia Gulnara Shahinian Founder and Chair, Democracy Today Armenia Tom Gerald Daly Director, Democratic Decay & Renewal (DEM-DEC) Australia Michael Danby Former Member of Parliament; Chair, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Australia Gareth Evans Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia and -
Azerbaijan: the Repression Games
AZERBAIJAN: THE REPRESSION GAMES THE VOICES YOU WON’T HEAR AT THE FIRST EUROPEAN GAMES 1 The first ever European Games are due to take place in (Above) Flame Towers in downtown Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on 12-28 June 2015. This Baku © Amnesty International multi-sport event will involve around 6,000 athletes and features a new state-of-the-art stadium costing some US$640 million. The games will give a huge boost to the government’s campaign to portray Azerbaijan as a progressive and politically stable rising economic Key Country Facts power. According to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the hosting of the European Games ‘will enable Azerbaijan to assert itself again Head of State throughout Europe as a strong, growing and a modern state.’2 President Ilham Aliyev But behind the image trumpeted by the government of a forward-looking, Head of Government modern nation is a state where criticism of the authorities is routinely Artur Rasizadze and increasingly met with repression. Journalists, political activists and human rights defenders who dare to challenge the government face Population trumped up charges, unfair trials and lengthy prison sentences. 9,583,200 In recent years, the Azerbaijani authorities have mounted an Area unprecedented clampdown on independent voices within the country. 86,600 km2 They have done so quietly and incrementally with the result that their actions have largely escaped consequences. The effects, however, are unmistakable. When Amnesty International visited the country in March 2015, there was almost no evidence of independent civil society activities and dissenting voices have been effectively muzzled. -
The Jails of Azerbaijan
The jails of Azerbaijan A chronology of recent repression 14 May to 25 August 2014 ESI Background briefing Introduction Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) on 14 May 2014. Here is what happened since then until 25 August 2014: arrests, pre-trial detainments, court sentences, and other forms of politically motivated repression, the most serious and brutal crackdown on civil society in Azerbaijan ever. May 2014 14 May – in May Azerbaijan took over chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) from Austria, to lead the Committee for the next six months. 15 May – One day later, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced journalist and human rights activist Parviz Hashimli to eight years in prison on charges of arms possession and smuggling. Hashimli is a reporter for the independent newspaper, Bizim Yol (“Our Way”), and director of the site “Moderator.az.” He had also been arrested eight months earlier 17 September 2013, by officers from the Ministry of National Security. 22 May – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a decision in the case of Ilgar Mammadov, Chairman of the Republican Alternative Civic Movement (REAL). Mammadov was arrested and detained on 4 February 2013 (along with Tofig Yagublu, a leader in the Musavat oppotition party). The two were charged with organising and initiating a violent mass protest in Ismayilli, Azerbaijan, which occured on 23 January 2014. The ECHR ruled that Mammadov’s three month pre-trial detention was politically motivated and orders the Azerbaijani government to pay him 20,000 EUR. -
The Human Rights Council Must Address the Crackdown on Civil Society and Repression of Human Rights Defenders in Azerbaijan
THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MUST ADDRESS THE CRACKDOWN ON CIVIL SOCIETY AND REPRESSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN AZERBAIJAN Briefing note 34th session of the Human Rights Council March 2017 humanrightshouse.org The Human Rights Council must address the crackdown on civil society and repression of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan 34th session of the Human Rights Council Briefing note prepared by Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (Azerbaijan) Human Rights Club (Azerbaijan) Legal Education Society (Azerbaijan) Public Association for Democracy and Resource Centre for Human Rights (Azerbaijan) Public Association for Assistance to Free Economy (Azerbaijan) Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Human Rights House Foundation March 2017 Updated on 3 March 2017 The authorities in Azerbaijan have rapidly put in place legislation allowing the State to fully control civil society activities in the country. The legislation attempts to legally justify the detention of human rights defenders, journalists and activists, who can face imprisonment at any given time, on purely arbitrary accusations. The release of leading civil society figures from prison is not a sign of systemic change, but a signal of the leverage that the international community has to ensure such releases. Releases in 2016 included human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, human rights defenders Rasul Jafarov, Anar Mammadli, Bashir Suleymanli, Leyla Yunus, and her husband Arif Yunus, and journalist Khadija Ismayil. This dire situation deserves the highest attention and action at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Following an official visit to Azerbaijan in September 2016, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders assessed that civil society has been “paralysed” by the government and has faced “the worst situation” since the country’s independence in 1991. -
2015 Annual Report
2015 ANNUAL REPORT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN THE BALANCE Published by: Front Line, the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Grattan House Temple Road Blackrock County Dublin Ireland Copyright © 2014 by Front Line Defenders This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Licence. Design: www.thedrawingboard.ie This report has been produced for the benefit of human rights defenders and may be quoted from or copied so long as the source/authors are acknowledged. Copies of this report are available from [email protected] HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN THE BALANCE THIS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE MAIN GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS WHICH EMERGED FROM FRONT LINE DEFENDERS WORK IN 2014. IN 2014, FRONT LINE DEFENDERS ISSUED 265 URGENT APPEALS ON OVER 400 HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK; IT PROVIDED 418 SECURITY GRANTS AND TRAINED 568 HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS. OVERALL, MORE THAN 1,900 HRDS IN 91 COUNTRIES BENEFITED FROM FRONT LINE DEFENDERS PROTECTION SUPPORT IN 2014. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN THE BALANCE EVERY YEAR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR THEIR COURAGE. THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS WHO WERE IN KILLED IN 2014, AS REPORTED TO FRONT LINE DEFENDERS* WE REMEMBER THEM AND TO THEM WE DEDICATE OUR WORK: Americas Patricia Eluvia Samayoa Méndez Europe and Central Asia Columbia Jhon Braulio Saigama Gabriel Enrique Ciramagua Ruiz Turkey Seyed Jamal Hosseini Berlain Saigama Gutierrez Víctor Hugo Monterroso Girón Gerson Martinez Oscar Chen -
Int Ccpr Ico Aze 22557 E
ICCPR List of Issues Submission NGO Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee prior to the Adoption of the List of Issues for the review of Azerbaijan 18 December 2015 Joint submission by FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights) and OMCT (World Organisation Against Torture) Over the past years and months, the Republic of Azerbaijan has continued to constantly and seriously breach international and regional law and standards, in particular its obligations arising from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Since mid-2014, the Azeri authorities have operated an unprecedented crackdown on all dissenting voices in the country, in particular leading human rights defenders and organisations, independent journalists and political activists, relying on restrictive NGO legislation coupled with an abusive use of provisions of the Criminal Code. In August 2014, the names of human rights defenders Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif Yunusov, Mr. Intigam Aliyev and Mr. Rasul Jafarov, joined later by Ms. Khadija Ismayilova were added to the list of prisoners of conscience. In 2012 and 2013, human rights activists Mr. Hilal Mammadov and Mr. Anar Mammadli had already been sentenced to harsh prison sentences in relation to their human rights activities, and currently remain in detention. This severe crackdown on civil society intensified even further over the past months, with harsh sentences being handed down to Mr. Rasul Jafarov, Mr. Intigam Aliyev, Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif Yunusov and Ms. Khadija Ismayilova, after speedy and blatantly unfair trials. Although Ms. Leyla Yunus and Mr. Arif Yunusov were recently released on probation, charges are still pending against them, including for state treason, in a case involving arbitrarily detained columnist Mr. -
European Human Rights Advocacy Centre Bulletin NO.25 / SUMMER 2016 ARTICLES
European Human Rights Advocacy Centre Bulletin NO.25 / SUMMER 2016 ARTICLES Contents Welcome to the Summer 2016 Why we must protect p.3 The perspective of one of the first Chechen applicants to the EHRAC Bulletin European Court and save the European This is the 25th edition of the EHRAC Bulletin. In this anniversary edition we look p.4 In conversation with Lord Judd back on some of our successful cases over the last thirteen years, and discuss current and future priorities. We also wanted to pay tribute to the volunteers and interns who Court of Human Rights p.6 Human rights lawyering in have worked with us over this period; one of our ‘alumni’, Shoaib M Khan, takes a Azerbaijan look at what six of our former interns are doing now, and how the internship helped The perspective of one of the first Chechen applicants them to pursue a career in human rights, whether as part of civil society, the legal p.8 Reflections on the rule of law in community or academia. Libkan Bazayeva, Director of NGO “Women for Development”, Grozny Azerbaijan EHRAC’s first judgments in 2005 were in six cases from Chechnya, concerning tor- p.10 A comparative view on civil society ture, killings and indiscriminate bombing by the Russian security services. Libkan Libkan Bazayeva (Image featured in EHRAC’s 10 Year repression Bazayeva, an applicant in one of these cases, explains the important role the judg- Anniversary Exhibition in 2013) ment from the European Court of Human Rights has played in providing her and p.11 Border issues in Georgia and South those around her with hope of redress. -
Organization Signatory Country Other Affiliation
Signatory Organization Country Other Affiliation General Director, Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies Davood Moradian Afghanistan President, European Democracy Youth Network Juela Hamati Albania Former President of Albania Rexhep Meidani Albania United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Somalia Fatiha Serour Algeria Co-founder, Justice Impact Lab; Member, the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability President, Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED) Nassera Dutour Algeria Founder, Maka Angola Rafael Marques de Morais Angola Professor, the Institute of Legal Research of the National Autonomous UniversityFlavia of Mexico Freidenberg (UNAM) Argentina Secretary of Human Rights for the Province of Buenos Aires Santiago Cantón Argentina Former Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) Journalist Beatriz Sarlo Argentina Former President of Argentina Mauricio Macri Argentina Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina Susana Malcorra Argentina Former Chef de Cabinet to the Executive Office at the United Nations Former Minister of Security of Argentina Patricia Bullrich Argentina Former Minister of Labour, Employment and Human Resources of Argentina President, Fundacion Libertad Gerardo Bongiovanni Argentina Former Member of Chamber of Deputies Laura Alonso Argentina Former Executive Director, Poder Ciudadano; Former Head of Argentine Anti- Corruption Office Professor, Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo Liliana De Riz Argentina Founder and -
Int Ccpr Ico Aze 22692 E
1 Human Rights House Network The Human Rights House Network is a community of human rights defenders working for more than 100 independent organisations operating in 16 Human Rights Houses in 13 countries. Empowering, supporting, and protecting human rights defenders, the Network members unite their voices to promote the universal freedoms of assembly, organisation, and expression, and the right to be a human rights defender. The Secretariat (HRHF) – based in Oslo, Geneva, and Brussels – stewards the community, raising awareness internationally, raising concerns at the UN, EU, and international institutions, and coordinating best use and sharing of the knowledge, expertise, influence, and resources within the Network. Contact person for the report Anna Innocenti International Advocacy Officer Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) Email: [email protected] Tel: +4122 33 22 556 Geneva office Rue de Varembé 1 (5th floor), PO Box 35, 1211 Geneva 20 (Switzerland) Oslo office Menneskerettighetshuset Kirkegata 5, 0153 Oslo (Norway) Brussels office Rue de Trèves 45, 1040 Brussels (Belgium) 2 For human rights defenders in Azerbaijan In 2009, members and partners of the Human Rights House Azerbaijan submitted an NGO report and contributed to the review of Azerbaijan at the Committee on Civil and Political Rights. Rasul Jafarov was one of them, working at the time with the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety. He was inspired by the work of the Committee to further the defence of human rights in Azerbaijan. Today, Rasul Jafarov is one of the detained human rights defenders in Azerbaijan. In 2011, the Human Rights House Azerbaijan was ordered to cease all activities. -
THE OBSERVATORY AZERBAIJAN: Rasul Jafarov Sentenced to 6.5
PRESS RELEASE - THE OBSERVATORY AZERBAIJAN: Rasul Jafarov sentenced to 6.5 years of jail for human rights work Paris-Geneva, April 16, 2015 – The six and a half year jail sentence handed down today by the Baku Grave Crimes Court against Rasul Jafarov is unacceptable, declared the Observatory. The conviction of the human rights defender, arbitrarily detained since August 2014, should be overturned and he should be immediately and unconditionally released. The Observatory mandated a lawyer, Ms. Anastassiya Miller, to observe the trial against Rasul Jafarov. She attended several hearings, including today's verdict. To her, “it is clear that the trial was based on trumped-up charges and that there is no evidence of Mr. Jafarov's guilt”. An Observatory delegation visited Baku in January 2015 to meet with civil society actors in order to first-hand witness the impact of the Azeri government crackdown on independent voices. The delegation also tried to visit jailed human rights defenders, including Rasul Jafarov. Despite having submitted several official requests, access to the prisons was impossible. Following this mission, the Observatory will release its report on April 21, documenting the repression against human rights defenders in Azerbaijan and denouncing its intensification ahead of the Baku Euro Games, to be held in June 2015. The Observatory calls for the immediate release of Rasul Jafarov and all the other arbitrarily detained defenders, including: Intigam Aliyev, Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunusov, Khadija Ismayilova, Anar Mammadli, Hilal Mammadov and Rauf Mirqadirov1. Background information: Mr. Rasul Jafarov actively participated in the “Sing for Democracy” and the "Art of Democracy” movements ahead of the Eurovision song contest in Baku in May 2012, and was planning a campaign called “Sports for Human Rights” prior to the European Games which will take place in Baku in June 2015.