Repression against Talysh continues !

We condemn in the strongest possible terms Azerbaijan’s decision to bring a criminal charge against Cabrayıl Hajiyev (Cemil Haciyev), a former Nagorno Karabakh veteran, in a move that signals an intensification of its campaign against an independent veteran community.

The targeted judicial harassment of Mr. Hajiyev is illustrative of the authorities’ growing intolerance of independent dissent about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and political system in Azerbaijan.

Mr. Hajiyev is accused of "hooliganism". We believe that this charge is bogus and its scenario have been written at Lenkoran Police Department.

The criminal case against Mr. Hajiyev is an "accelerated" response to a complaint by a government mole who instigated a scuffle with Mr. Hajiyev.

Jemil Hajiyev has been recovering from serious heart conditions. Indictment and eventual imprisonment will mean death sentence for him.

In 1993 Azerbaijani authorities had already unleashed a wave of repression to silence Mr. Hajiyev for his involvement of political transition of the Talysh region. He was imprisoned for a long term sentence. Eventually, he was released after spending his years in a maximum-security prison.

We believe that this new charge is absurd. We condemn the ongoing criminalization of the veteran activist in Azerbaijan. The bogus criminal charge must be dropped immediately and without conditions.

We call on the Council of Europe to take immediate steps to improve the human rights situation in the country, starting with dropout of the hooliganism charge against Mr. Jemil Hajiyev.

Atakhan Abilov
Human rights ddefender