19:49 To: the Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and to the representatives of international organizations. | |
| To: the Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and to the representatives of international organizations. Since 28 February 2019, Fakhraddin Aboszoda (Abbasov), a Talysh scholar, journalist and one of the leaders of the Talysh National Movement, has been held in a pretrial detention centre of the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He was illegally deported from the Russian Federation after staying for half a year in a pretrial detention facility near Moscow (detained on 6 September 2018). On 29 April 2019, the Moscow Regional Court recognised the illegality of his deportation to Azerbaijan. On 7 March 2019, Amnesty International sent a letter (Index number: EUR 04/9985/2019) to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in connection with this violation of international law. On 21 November 2019, a trial of F. Aboszoda (Abbasov) began in Baku, which mainly took place behind closed doors with gross violations of procedural rules. On 12 December 2019, blogger Elvin Isaev, another political activist of the Talysh origin, was kidnapped and delivered to Baku by Azerbaijani intelligence services from Kiev (Ukraine). He sharply criticised the political regime established in Azerbaijan, and in particular, President Ilham Aliyev and members of his family. His trial should begin on 24 January 2020. The Azerbaijani authorities accuse Fakhraddin Aboszoda (Abbasov) of public appeals against the state (Article 281.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan), incitement to national hatred and hostility (Article 283.1), as well as of high treason (Article 274). He is a prisoner of conscience and is persecuted by the Azerbaijani authorities for his political views, as well as for his scientific and journalistic activities which cover more than twenty-five years. He is the leading expert in Talysh studies in Azerbaijan: he published three Russian-Talyshi, two Talyshi-Turkic and one English-Talyshi dictionaries, as well as the only grammar reference book of the Talyshi language as of now. On separate occasions, he was the editor-in-chief of three Talysh newspapers: Tolyshi Sado (1993-1994), Tolysh (2002-2004) and Shavnysht (2005-2008). The persecution of Fakhraddin Aboszoda (Abbasov) is part of the systematic policy of the Azerbaijani authorities to exercise pressure on Talysh activists and public figures. Two other editors of the newspaper Tolyshi Sado, doctor of philological sciences Novruzali Mammadov and candidate of physical and mathematical sciences Hilal Mammadov were also arrested in Azerbaijan in 2007 and 2012, respectively, and convicted of treason. Novruzali Mammadov died in a Baku prison in 2009. Unfortunately, with their tacit approval of these cases, the Azerbaijani systemic opposition (like most human rights defenders, not a single one of whom even mentions procedural violations in the case of F. Aboszoda (Abbasov)) actually supports the authorities’ policy regarding the Talysh. The State Security Service Detention Centre, where F. Aboszoda (Abbasov) is held, remains the most closed institution in the country. Back in 2003, the UN Committee against Torture in its final report expressed concern about the functioning of this detention centre and recommended (paragraph 7d of the 2003 Final Report) to either transfer the pretrial detention centre in the care of the Ministry of Justice or completely close it. For the entire period of pretrial investigative measures, F. Aboszoda (Abbasov) was subjected to complete isolation, did not allow any communication with his supporters or ordinary Talysh activists, limited his right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which contradicts official obligations undertaken by Baku in relation to the Council of Europe. F. Aboszoda (Abbasov) and his defenders are under constant pressure. One of his lawyers (E. Osmanov) was forced to refuse to provide his services in fear for his safety. His current lawyer, E. Gambarov, remains silent in court, having actually pulled away from the defense of the Talysh scientist. Moreover, contrary to the requirements of the defendant, he did not send a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights about the unlawful arrest (by the time F. Aboszoda (Abbasov) was extradited to Azerbaijan, his pretrial detention had expired). E. Gambarov refuses to transfer documents to the client confirming his innocence, and also refuses to provide the public with information about the progress of the investigation or trial. Azerbaijan has no independent judiciary system, and not a single acquittal has been passed on political cases in the country. And only the condemnation by the international community of unlawful actions of the authorities to restrict freedom of speech and pluralism of opinions, their persecution of political opponents, arrests, physical and psychological pressure, torture can influence the ruling regime in Azerbaijan. The indigenous Talysh population is the most discriminated group of the country, deprived not only of any opportunity to participate in its political life, but also doomed to assimilation by the coordinated policy of the authorities and the opposition of Azerbaijan. The criminal cases against both such prominent scholars and political figures as Fakhraddin Aboszoda, and opposition bloggers as Elvin Isaev, are clear evidence of this. We insist on the compliance with the obligations undertaken by Baku under international conventions and agreements (in particular, the European Convention on Human Rights) and the conduct of a public, fair and impartial trial of the charges against Fakhraddin Aboszoda (Abbasov) and Elvin Isaev. We are completely convinced that an independent court, if any is to be arranged, could easily qualify the persecution of Fakhraddin Aboszoda (Abbasov) and Elvin Isaev as unreasonable and immediately release them. From: Alakram Hummatov , President of The Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, Chairman of the Talysh National Movement. Rahim Mirzoyev, Prime-minister of the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic's refugee government, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee.   http://www.tolishstan.com/ | |
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