AZERBAIJAN NGO PROGRESS REPORT ON THE FOLLOW-UP OF THE CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS 27 JUNE 2011 (CCPR/C/AZE/CO/3) The contribution to this report is given by: Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) Legal Education Society (LES) IRFS and LES are the former and current national coordinators of the South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders and partners of the Human Rights House Azerbaijan. With the support of: NGO/CCPR Centre Implementation Assessment Paragraph 11 Paragraph 15 Recommendation Grade Summary Recommendation Grade Summary Establish independent body to C No action taken. Take measure to end direct and C Increased restriction receive and investigate indirect restrictions on freedom outweighs potential complaints of expression improvement Ensure all complaints are C No serious investigation and Legislation on defamation B3 Law not yet adopted but is examined thoroughly and no one has been punished. should be brought into line with expected to be during fall victims compensated. art. 19. 2011. Current laws used to Those responsible should be C No one has been criminally intimidate journalists. prosecuted and punished prosecuted. Finding a balance between B3 Draft legislation of Places of detention are subject B3 Selected NGOs can visit information on “public figures”, defamation is made, not to regular independent prisons upon 24 hour and the right of a democratic adopted. inspection notice. Unclear proposals society to be informed. to legislation. Effectively protect media C No action taken. Many Adequate training to law C There is according to the workers against attempts on documented violations. enforcements and prison NGOs no official their integrity and life. officials to ensure protection of information that systematic State should not unreasonably C No action taken and further Rights trainings have been held. restrain independent restriction on foreign radio Systematic use of audio and C No systematic newspapers, as well as radio stations. video in police stations and implementation. stations. detention facilities State should treat users of non- C Activists using social media conventional media in strict are being supressed, A: Fully Implemented compliance with art. 19. imprisoned and threatened. B1: Partially Implemented-Most of the requirements met B2: Partially Implemented-Progress made, but addition action needs to be taKen B3: Partially Implemented-Initial action taKen (no steps in the implementation) C: Not implemented at all Page 2 of 13 NGOs did not provide responses to Paragraphs 9 and 18. Responses to Paragraphs 11 and 15 are found below. Recently documented violations or relevant incidents are cited throughout the response. They are listed by number and are found at the end of each Paragraph chart. Documented violations or relevant incidents are cited more than once is appropriate. Paragraph 11 The Committee is concerned at persistent reports of confessions obtained under torture and ill-treatment during investigation. It is also concerned at information that such confessions have served as evidence in court on a number of occasions, and that torture and ill-treatment complaints are not being duly and systematically investigated. The Committee is also concerned about reports of deaths in police detention centres, remand centres, or prison facilities. Finally, it remains concerned at the lack of a fully independent mechanism for investigating complaints against acts by members of the police or prison guards, despite the explanations of the delegation as to the existence of an inspectorate to control the execution of punishments and a department of human rights and public relations (Ministry of Justice) with certain prerogatives in this respect (art. 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14). Committee Recommendation Actions taKen by the State Further action needed Other comments from the NGOs The State party should establish -No action taken. - State needs to establish a new -The Office of the Ombudsperson lacks the without delay an independent independent body with the level of independence to be the national body with authority to receive authority to receive and institution responsible for investigating and investigate all complaints investigate all complaints of use complaints of torture and other human of use of force incompatible of force. rights violations, as well as to serve as the with the Code of Conduct for National Prevention Mechanism. While UN Law Enforcement Officials - A lack of safeguards and and ECHR identified several cases of (General Assembly resolution procedures from the beginning of violations of CAT and CPT, the 34/169) and the Basic Principles custody, and a failure to abide by Ombudsman’s office failed to disclose any on the Use of Force and regulations that do exist, leave single case during 8 years of work. Firearms by Law Enforcement people at risk of violations of However, a hotline for torture victims has Officials (1990), and other their fundamental right not to be been established, which has the intention abuses of power by law subjected to torture or ill- to facilitate complaint procedures to the enforcement officials treatment. Office. Local NGOs are concerned of the ineffectiveness of the Ombudsman’s Office as the National Preventive Mechanism under the UN OPCAT. The Ombudsman has not involved the public organizations in Preventive Mechanism, only the employees of Ombudsman’s office, which receive salary from the state budget, constitute this Mechanism. Page 3 of 13 The State party should ensure -No action taken. -State needs to ensure that all -According to the Azerbaijan that all complaints relating to -There is no requirement at present for a detained person to complaints relating to torture or Committee against to Torture, at torture or ill-treatment are be brought promptly before a judge, nor are there any ill-treatment are examined least one prisoner reportedly died examined promptly and procedures whereby a person can challenge in court the promptly and thoroughly and in custody in 2010 after alleged ill- thoroughly and that the victims lawfulness of their detention or their continued detention – that the victims are treatment are compensated. violations of Azerbaijan’s fair trial obligations under the compensated. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. -See below for an instance when - Although the prosecutor’s agencies are entitled, no serious recent complaint was not examined investigation on the issue raised by the right defence (1). organizations or punishment of anyone was observed in practice. Those responsible should be -No action taken. -Those responsible should be -See below for recent individual prosecuted and punished. prosecuted. There should be cases of confessions obtained -Torture and ill-treatment in custody continue with impunity. restrictions and better control of under torture or ill-treatment police as well as an independent during investigation and lack of - In 2010 the Azerbaijan Committee against Torture, an judiciary. prosecution by the State (1, 2). independent prison monitoring group, received over 150 complaints alleging torture and ill-treatment in custody. The -Torture and ill treatment in the -See below for recent cases of Ministry of Interior took disciplinary measures against police stations has been reported mistreatment during detention (1, several officers, but failed to criminally prosecute any of and none of these allegations has 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). them. There is not a single case in which police investigated ever been thoroughly and fairly and brought the people accountable to justice. investigated by the relevant government bodies. The culture - All the motions concerned to the ill-treatment which were of impunity for torture will brought by lawyers of detainees have been rejected by continue unless restrictions and courts and prosecuting organ. They justified the rejection by better control of police activity absence of direct evidences. For example, in the case of two are put in place, and unless an bloggers (Emin Milli and Adnana Hajizada), who were independent judiciary starts deprived of speaking to lawyers at the moment of their holding perpetrators of violations detention in July 2009. for their acts. Page 4 of 13 The State party should ensure - For those NGOs, which are not the members of the Civic -State should allow, without prior -Institute for Reporters Freedom that all places of detention are Prison Monitoring Committee (also called Public Committee), notice, unrestricted access of and Safety (IRFS) has twice subject to regular independent established by the Ministry of Justice, there are no special NGOs to prisons, pre-trial appealed to Ministry of Justice inspection procedures established on getting access to detention detention facilities, and police requesting permission to visit jailed facilities. The Civic Prison Monitoring Committee has a right stations. journalist, but it was refused of to visit prisons only, under subordination by the Ministry of permission. In addition, human Justice - with 24 hours prior notice to the Ministry. It never rights defender Rasul Jafarov has monitored situation in the pre-trial detention places and also twice appealed to the Ministry police stations. Elchin Behbudov, the chairman of Azerbaijan of Justice to hold trainings for Committee against Tortures, however, has access to prisoners on their rights for early detention institutions (but not to prisons) without any release in frame of the project of concrete procedure. There are some unclear proposals