February 21, 2021
Committee for Protection of Rights of Victims of Legal Arbitrariness Created in Terter
In Azerbaijan, in May-June 2017, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service carried out large-scale repressions that targeted soldiers and officers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Just on May 7, 2017, 47 people were arrested, and by May 17, the number of those arrested reached 400 citizens, and then it increased to 1,000. The Azerbaijani citizens accused in state treason (Article 274 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic) were subjected to terrible torture, which resulted in the death of 11 people as early as May 2017. Full information and names of those killed is here:
https://www.ipd-az.org/law-enforcement-agencies-of-azerbaijan-sanction-murders/
None of the detainees has been assigned a lawyer, there have been no trials, which decided on a measure of restraint for the officially filed charges. The legal analysis of Emil Aliyev’s trial (the Ganja Military Court, presided by the Judge Vugar Mammadov), as well as Natig Quluzade, Nijat Rzayev, Zaur Abdullayev, Vali Khalilov, Emin Ayibov, Yalchin Tarverdizade and Orkhan Babayev (the Terter Military Court, presided by the Judge Ilqar Quliyev) confirmed the gross violation of the Azerbaijan Republic legislation and the international law in imposing an illegal and unfounded conviction on the above-mentioned citizens. The analyses of the trials are here:
https://www.ipd-az.org/another-unbased-accusation-of-change-of-the-homeland/
https://www.ipd-az.org/the-trial-of-7-persons/
As early as May 2017, the Institute for Peace and Democracy collected the information concerning those killed due to torture, and the Satellite television channel Turan TV conducted an interview with Colonel Saleh Qafarov’s mother and widow who was tortured to death.
In Baku, human rights defender Oktay Gyulalyev began investigating the crimes of the military prosecutor’s office and other security agencies in the Terter case, but on October 29, 2019, he was hit by a car. The doctors did not give him proper help even in a coma. As a result, it has been in a vegetative state for over a year.
At present, the list of the Union “Freedom for Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan” contains the names of the 25 convicts in the Tartar case. See:
https://www.ipd-az.org/political-prisoners-for-17-february-2021/
However, the number of those sentenced is undoubtedly much higher, the Institute for Peace and Democracy notes.
The Committee for Protection of Rights of Victims of Legal Arbitrariness Created in Terter, which we created, aims to:
-The release of ALL those convicted in this fabricated case.
-Rehabilitation and awarding the title of Shekhid (Martyr) to ALL those tortured to death.
– Criminal prosecution of ALL those responsible for the most brutal repressions against AR soldiers, starting with the AR military Prosecutor, Khanlar Valiyev:
https://www.ipd-az.org/veliev-hanlar/
The members of the Committee are:
- The Chairman – Leyla Yunus, Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy
- The Co-Chairman – Nasir Aliyev, the father of the innocent convicted Emil Aliyev.
- Valida Akhmadova, the mother of Elchin Guliyev who was tortured and beaten to death.
- Kamal Qasimov, the father of the innocent convicted Majid Qasimov.
- Nariman Babayev, the father of the innocent convicted Orkhan Babayev.
- Mehman Aliyev, the father of the innocent convicted Nasif Aliyev.
Our Committee intends to hold regular virtual conferences and cooperates with the international human rights organizations (OMCT, AI, HRW), PACE rapporteurs regarding Azerbaijan, OSCE, EU, the US State Department and others.