Amnesty International Report 1996 - Azerbaijan

Five prisoners of conscience were sentenced but subsequently pardoned and released. At least three people, reportedly detained solely because of their ethnic origin in connection with the Karabakh conflict, were released in negotiated exchanges, but reports came to light that others detained before 1995 were still held. Beatings and ill-treatment in detention continued to be reported, and at least one detainee may have died as a result of his injuries. At least 15 death sentences were passed; the real figure was thought to be higher. At least seven death sentences were commuted. No executions were reported. In March a rebellion by members of a special police unit in the capital, Baku, was put down by government forces. Official figures listed 36 dead in the operation, and more than 100 people were subsequently arrested. A state of emergency, imposed on Baku in 1994 after a previous mutiny by the special police unit, was lifted in June. Parliamentary elections in November returned a majority for President Heidar Aliyev's New Azerbaijan Party. In May the first anniversary of the cease-fire in the disputed region of Karabakh (see Amnesty International Report 1995) was marked by an exchange of detainees held by Armenia, Azerbaijan and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Five prisoners of conscience were sentenced but subsequently pardoned and released. Ayaz Ahmedov, Asgar Ahmed, Yadigar Mammedli and Malik Bayramov, journalists with links to opposition political parties, and Mirzagusseyn Zeynalov, a press distributor, had been arrested in March in connection with the publication of articles and caricatures about Presid-ent Aliyev in the satirical newspaper Cheshme and charged with "insulting the honour and dignity of the President". They were convicted by Baku City Court and sentenced in October to between two and five years' imprisonment. All were pardoned by President Heidar Aliyev in November, and released. At least three ethnic Armenians, reportedly detained solely because of their ethnic origin in connection with the Karabakh conflict, were released, as negotiated exchanges of prisoners and hostages continued. Greta Kadirova was released in March after five months in detention. She had left Azerbaijan several years previously after violent attacks took place against Armenians, but in 1994 returned to Baku to see her two children. According to reports Greta Kadirova had been taken to Binagadi police station by her Azeri relatives, and then held without charge along with several other women from mixed marriages. All were believed to have been released at the same time. Armen Amirbekyan, who had been detained in 1994 while in transit through Azerbaijan (see Amnesty International Report 1995), was handed over in May. He had been held at a special holding camp in Gobustan, officially for an identity check, although his relatives were reportedly approached by officials offering to exchange him for two Azerbaijani prisoners. Also released from the Gobustan camp around that time was Zara Akopyan; she had been detained in July 1994 near the Georgian border. Although the Prosecutor General's office told Amnesty International in September that there were no longer any Armenian prisoners or hostages on the territory of Azerbaijan, reports came to light during the year of individuals detained because of their ethnic origin who were still believed to be held at the end of the year. Sixteen-year-old Zaven Ramazyan was reported to have been held hostage by a private individual with the knowledge of the authorities, who reportedly took no steps to intervene. He had left his home in Armenia in February 1994 and travelled to a market in neighbouring Georgia. There Zaven Ramazyan was reportedly seized by an Azerbaijani citizen, a former police officer, who took him to Azerbaijan and demanded a named Azerbaijani hostage in return. When the latter could not be located, a sum of money was demanded instead. Zaven Ramazyan was believed still to be held at the end of the year. Reports of ill-treatment in pre-trial detention continued, and at least one detainee may have died as a result of his injuries. Verification remained difficult as requests for access by local human rights organizations and families were refused by the authorities. Aliakram Hummatov, an opponent of the government, was arrested in December 1993 and charged with a range of criminal offences, but escaped from custody in September 1994. His relatives were reported to have been harassed in the period following his escape. In July his wife, Sudaba Rasulova, was reportedly detained without charge in Lenkoran to force her husband to give himself up. Aliakram Hummatov returned home to Lenkoran in August and was rearrested. His wife was released, but went into hiding when the authorities again sought to detain her. Aliakram Hummatov was said to have been beaten following his second arrest, either in Lenkoran or following his transfer to Baku. Police seeking Sudaba Rasulova are alleged to have beaten the couple's eldest child, 14-year-old Ramal Hummatov, on several occasions, and to have burned him with cigarettes, in an attempt to force him to reveal the location of his mother. Rafiq Ismayilov, a barber from the village of Digah, was detained in December by police officers from Masalli district on suspicion of theft and taken to the Regional Police Department, where he later died. According to the Interior Ministry, Rafiq Ismayilov suffered from heart disease and died as a result of heart failure. Unofficial sources, however, allege that he died as a result of injuries sustained when he was beaten by police officers. These were said to have included fractures to his neck, arm and ribs, and damage to his kidneys. At least 15 death sentences came to light during the year, although the real figure was probably higher. According to official statistics provided in July, 27 people were sentenced to death in 1992; 22 in 1993; and 23 in 1994. No executions were reported in 1995, nor have been since 1990, but according to unofficial sources some 100 men were awaiting execution at the end of the year, held in grossly overcrowded conditions. In December President Aliyev commuted the death sentences passed on seven men to terms of imprisonment. Amnesty International urged the release of all prisoners of conscience, and sought further information on several possible prisoners of conscience. Amnesty International also called on all parties to the Karabakh conflict to release anyone held hostage, or held solely because of their ethnic origin. Amnesty International urged that all allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials be investigated promptly and impartially, with the findings made public and any perpetrators identified brought to justice. Throughout the year Amnesty International urged the authorities to com-mute all pending death sentences and to take steps towards abolition of the death penalty.