In December 2013, police arrested Anar Mammadli, chairman of Azerbaijan's leading independent election monitoring group. In April Rauf Mirgadirov, anoutspoken reporter and commentator, was arrestedin Baku's international airport after he was unlawfully deported from Turkey and is facing treason charges. The circumstances of the criminal investigations and numerous violations in legal proceedings leave little doubt that the charges against these critics are bogus and intended to punish them for their independent activism and criticism of the authorities, Human Rights Watch said.Īmong those imprisoned are eight youth political activists sentencedon May 6, 2014, to prison terms ranging from six to eight years five young men whose trials are ongoing or pending who administered or blogged actively on Facebook pages that sharply criticized the government Ilgar Mammadov, a prominent political analyst who intended to run for president in 2013 and Tofig Yagublu, deputy chair of the opposition political party Musavat, both of whom in March 2014 were sentenced to seven and five years, respectively, in prison and Yadigar Sadigov,an adviser to Musavat,sentenced to six years in prison on January 14. In its September 2013 report "Tightening the Screws: Azerbaijan's Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent," and in 35 follow-up interviews and other research since then, Human Rights Watch documented the authorities' use of a range of criminal charges, including drug and weapons possession, incitement to violence, hooliganism, tax evasion, and even treason. In the past two years, Azerbaijani authorities have brought or threatened unfounded criminal charges against at least 38 political activists, journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders, most of whom are behind bars. "The Council of Europe's leadership should make clear to Azerbaijan that it needs to free unjustly imprisoned government critics and undertake far-reaching rights reform." "The Council of Europe is the region's foremost human rights body, but Azerbaijan's chairmanship comes at a time when the government is blatantly flouting the organization's core standards," said Giorgi Gogia, senior South Caucasus researcher at Human Rights Watch. Azerbaijan will assume the rotating chairmanship of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers on May 14, 2014, following years of relentless crackdown on criticism. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.Īzerbaijanfalls far short of Council of Europe membership commitments, even as it assumes chairmanship of the organization. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Prior to his current position, he worked as Counselor to the Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Population.Human Rights Watch, Azerbaijan: New Arrests, Convictions of Critics, , available at: ![]() He was the member of the Azerbaijan Collegium of Advocates, co-founder of Azerbaijan-British Lawyers Association and vice-president of the Azerbaijani-Italian Chamber of Commerce.Ĭandidate of jurisprudence A.Karimov worked at the Baku State University as a teacher of the English-language magistracy program of law faculty. In 2001 – Mr.Karimov was Attorney at the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USA), in 2002-2005 he was Attaché and Third Secretary at the Department for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2005-2006 – was third secretary in the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Switzerland, in 2007-2010 - was Senior Lawyer for Turkey and Central Asia in Islamic Development Bank (Saudi Arabia), in 2010-2011 worked on the positions of Deputy Head of Department and Head of Department in Foreign Investments and Economic Relations Department of the Ministry of Economic Development, in 2011-2018 Mr.Karimov was Expert in International Projects, also worked in leading positions in the private sector. In 2001, he received a Master's degree in International Economic Law from the American University of Washington (Washington, USA). In 19 he graduated from Baku State University with honors and obtained Bachelor and Master Degrees in International Law.
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