Europe Plus

Constant insults and tortures of the head of the Institute for Peace
and Democracy, consistent fighter for human rights, the well-known human
rights activist Leyla Yunus, continue to amaze and disturb. Does all
this shame and medieval punishment occur in the country, claiming the
creation of a state of law, the owner of the forthcoming European games,
the country Presiding the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe, a member of the UN Security Council?

From history we know that such ill-treatment was in Stalin’s camps
with people declared “enemies of the people.” However, the then regime
“legitimized” such treatment, including torture, beatings of prisoners,
the use of “decoy” for the individual pressure – all of this was
reflected in the regulations, orders and instructions of the “people” of
the Interior. By the way, the survivors, investigators, prison guards,
the NKVD workers of the Stalinist regime, were subject to serious
punishment for the torture of prisoners. Judges, who passed illegal
sentences, were convicted themselves. Another part of them was punished
by fate. The disturbed balance between crime and punishment was
restored, though very small.

The coming to power of uneducated, illiterate, random people who
cannot draw lessons from history, is leading the country to disaster.
We’re going through such a tragedy. It seems that the authorities like
to see the mutilated leg bruises of Leyla Yunus, forgetting not only
humanity, but also the responsibility before the law and Allah.

What do you want to achieve, demonstrating the power over a woman?
The laws adopted by you prohibit to place in one camera with
criminals a person who was jailed for the first time, and whose guilt
has not been proved. Does the court authorizing the arrest of Yunus,
decided on her placing in the same cell with Nurida Huseynova? Not
Leila, and any woman , a citizen of the country, an Azeri woman, mother
is beaten, insulted and humiliated in the cell. Where are the
principles of humanism approved by you? Where are traditions and
national mentality so frequently mentioned by you?

It seems that you have forgotten even the most basic human values. The
was time when Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his entourage did the
same. Shahinshah allowed waste, injustice, used petrodollars on
pompous events, for which he was criticized by believers. Assuming for a
humiliating for himself to give interview in the Iranian press, he
instructed his prime minister, Amir Abbas Huveyda to state in press and
declare: “We have the money, we can spend it as we want, and who does
not want to see it, let him close his eyes.”

Just three months after these words the eyes of the Iranian people
opened, but there was no one to close eyes of Mohammed Reza dying in
an airplane.

I wonder why the dictators of modern times forget the bitter fate of
their predecessors? However, it would be fair to note that Shah in any
case showed aristocratism towards women, and Farah Khanum also
supported such behavior of Shah.

So bitter journey through history began with mutilated bruised legs
of Leyla Yunus. Today the international community wants to protect her,
and to free her from the torment and despotism of the authorities. The
authorities of the country, the territory of which is under occupation
for 20 years, is looking for high treason in the noble deeds of a
fragile woman, but forgets about corruption or bribery, that has seized
the country.

No one wants to understand that a betrayal of the country whose
territory is occupied is the appropriation of surface and underground
resources. This is the reality of Azerbaijan – on the one hand the
luxurious life of the ruling elite, on the other – sick, legs of Leyla
Yunus covered with bruises.

Jamil Hasanli

London-based daily newspaper Metro ran a feature this month extolling
the delights of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The photo-driven
feature article comes at a time when the government of President Ilham
Aliyev is ratcheting up pressure on dissenters, including denying
independent news outlets the kind of freedoms that a paper such as
Metro, whose parent company is outspoken on the importance of press
freedoms, enjoys in the UK.

Despite attempts to present itself to the outside world as a modern
and open society — in part through a concerted international PR campaign
— Azerbaijan has a woeful human rights record and continues to arrest,
detain and harass any opponents to the regime of President Ilham Aliyev.
In the last few months, many campaigners and activists have been
arrested in an attempt to silence them.

Metro highlighted 10 things to do in Baku. Here we list just five
things you need to know about Azerbaijan before you go. We ask our
supporters and all those who care about a free press and free expression to draw attention to these so we can counter the whitewash of the
Aliyev regime.

There is an ongoing crackdown on government critics

A number of high profile Azerbaijanis known for their criticism of authorities have been jailed in a matter of weeks. These include human rights activists Leyla and Arif Yunus and Rasul Jafarov, human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev and journalist Seymur Hezi. This new wave of repression followed the jailing of two human rights defenders who lead the only independent group monitoring elections in Azerbaijan.

Independent media is silenced

Azerbaijan’s last independent newspaper Azadliq, which was named 2013 Guardian Journalism award winner at the Index Freedom of Expression awards in March 2014, was forced to suspend printing in July because of financial pressures from the government. This is a familiar pattern for Azerbaijan’s critical press, which has long been subjected to an array of attacks. Independent news outlets face economic
sanctions and are often barred from distribution networks. Journalists are also victim to legal threats. In the first six months of 2013, 36 defamation suits were brought against media outlets or journalists.
Award-winning investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was subjected to an aggressive smear and blackmail campaign in retaliation for her coverage of government corruption and continues to be targeted by authorities.

Internet users are targeted
//www.youtube.com/embed/t-9AjYJoBHg?rel=0

Ahead of last year’s election Azerbaijan extended penalties for criminal
defamation and insult to cover not just traditional media, but also
online content, including social networks. The potential length of
pre-trial detention has increased from 15 to 90 days. In May, a
university student and member of the Free Youth organisation, was
arrested for a Harlem Shake video
posted on YouTube. A human rights defender was sentenced to four years
in jail on hooliganism charges after posting videos on
YouTube containing interviews with victims of a gang they alleged had
connections to local police officers. A freelance journalist who was
outspoken in his criticism of the government on social media was given a
four-and-a-half-year prison sentence on charges that included appealing
for mass disorder.

Artists are censored

Despite the fact that Azerbaijan has committed to respect and protect
artistic freedom of expression, authorities restrict this right. This is
especially the case for alternative artists and those deemed to be
critical of the government, whose ability to perform, display, or
disseminate their work is limited. Self-censorship is one consequence of
this, with many artists shying away from producing critical or
controversial work for fear of the possible consequences. Musician Jamal
Ali, who has spoken out against President Aliyev, was allegedly
tortured by the police.

Democratic principles are ignored

Current president Aliyev has been in power since 2003, when he took over
from his father Heydar, and in 2009 he removed term limits for the
presidency. According to the international observer mission, the October
2013 election “was undermined by limitations on the freedoms of
expression, assembly and association”, with “significant problems”
observed throughout election day. The 2003 and 2008 votes also failed
to meet international standards. Transparency International has called
Aliyev’s government the most corrupt in Europe. Meanwhile, authorities
have engaged in a wide-reaching international PR campaign. In 2012, the
country was given a chance to project a positive image to the world
through hosting the Eurovision Song Contents. Preparations included
urban renewal programs that saw homes demolished and families evicted.
It remains to be seen what will happen next year, when the inaugural
European Games come to Baku.

By Jodie Ginsberg / 17 September, 2014

This article was published on Wednesday 17 Sept 2014 at indexoncensorship.org

BAKU
(17 September 2014) – The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of
Torture (SPT) has decided to suspend its visit to Azerbaijan due to
obstructions it encountered in carrying out its mandate under the
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), to which
Azerbaijan is a party.

The delegation was prevented from visiting several places where
people are detained and was barred from completing its work at other
sites, despite repeated attempts to do so and assurances of unrestricted
access to all places of deprivation of liberty by Azerbaijani
authorities.

As a result of these serious breaches of Azerbaijan’s obligations
under the Optional Protocol, the delegation concluded that the integrity
of its visit, scheduled to run from 8 to 17 September, had been
compromised to such an extent that it had to be suspended.

The delegation members halted their work on 14 September but some
members remained in Azerbaijan to seek further engagement with the
Azerbaijani authorities on the basis of the information currently at
their disposal. The head of the delegation, Aisha Shujune Muhammad, met
the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs on 16 September.

The SPT expects Azerbaijan to abide by its international obligations
under the Optional Protocol and enter into a constructive dialogue with
the SPT with the view to preventing torture and ill-treatment.

The SPT has a mandate under the OPCAT to conduct on-site visits and
make recommendations to the authorities of State Parties to establish
effective safeguards against the risk of torture and ill-treatment in
places of deprivation of liberty.

The SPT Delegation to the Republic of Azerbaijan comprises the
following members: Ms. Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Head of Delegation), Mr.
Milos Jankovic, Ms. Margarete Suzuko Osterfeld, Mr. Miguel
Sarre-Iguiniz, and Mr. Victor Zaharia (Focal Point for Reprisals).

Background: The Optional Protocol on the Prevention of Torture has to
date been ratified by 73 countries. At the end of a country mission,
the SPT communicates its recommendations and observations to the State
by means of a confidential report, and if necessary to National
Preventive Mechanisms. States parties are encouraged to request that the
SPT makes these reports public.

Find out more about the Optional Protocol:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OPCAT.aspx

Protest outside BP HQ in London (Photo: Dave Coscia)

This week marks the anniversary of the signing of
the Contract of the Century, when BP began its 20 year relationship with
the Aliyev family

Protesters called on global oil giant BP to reassess its connections
with the regime in Azerbaijan at a gathering outside the company’s
London headquarters.

This week marks the anniversary of the signing of the Contract of the
Century, when BP began its 20 year relationship with the Aliyev family.
The protesters argue that BP’s role in Azerbaijan has provided the
former president, Heydar Aliyev, and the current president, his son
Ilham, with considerable power and money, facilitating the country’s
repressive regime and hampering democracy.

There are currently 98 political prisoners being held in Azerbaijan and the threat of arrest others is also high. Recently, prominent activists Leyla and Arif Yunus and Rasul Jafarov have been jailed, as well as human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev.

Ramute Remezaite, a human rights lawyer who worked in Azerbaijan,
told Index on Censorship: “It’s very important to tell BP that it is
totally intolerable to cooperate with the government of Azerbaijan, it’s
repressing its own people and putting them to prison for reasons such
as exercising their fundamental human rights.

“Another reason why it’s very important to be here and to hold this
action, is as solidarity with our colleagues in Baku because such an
action is impossible these days in Azerbaijan — people standing in front
of the BP office in Baku would be immediately arrested and sentenced to
one, two, three weeks in prison.”

A group of Azerbaijani civil society organisations plan to send
a letter to Bob Dudley, group chief executive of BP, demanding that the
company call on the Aliyev government to release all political
prisoners, and ensure that other prominent human rights defenders, such as Emin Huseynov, will not face arrest.

Emma Hughes from Platform London, who organised today’s protest, told
Index: “We’re here today in solidarity with Azerbaijani civil society
who are calling on BP to raise the case of the 98 political prisoners in
Azerbaijan and also to drop their sponsorship of the 2015 Baku European
Olympic Games.”

Also attending the protest, alongside Platform London and Index on
Censorship, were representatives from Campaign Against Climate Change,
Article 19 and BP or not BP.

Claire James, from Campaign Against Climate Change, told Index: “I’m
here partly in solidarity with political prisoners but also because our
world’s addiction to fossil fuels is overcoming any common sense about
what we’re doing to the planet and it should not also be overcoming
human rights.”

In conclusion to the letter, Azerbaijani civil society asks that BP
ceases its activities in the country until such times as a “democratic
and accountable government is in power”.

By Aimee Hamilton / 17 September, 2014

This article was posted on 17 Sept 2014 at indexoncensorship.org

Islamic State research into biological and chemical weapons uncovered on
seized laptop to target shopping centres and air-conditioning systems

ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq have carried out research into the
production of biological weapons, compiling a manual of how to make a device
and sharing a religious edict that sanctions the use of weapons of mass
destruction against civilians.

The computer seized from a Tunisian chemistry student contained a 19-page
manual to learn how to turn the bubonic plague into a weapon of war. The
text boasts that biological and chemical weapons are a highly effective
means of targeting enemy populations, according to the Arab television
channel al-Aan, which obtained the computer from a Syria rebel group.

“The advantages of biological weapons is the low cost and high rate of
casualties,” an extract of the closely-typed document shown on the channel
said. “There are many methods to spread the biological or chemical
agents in a way to impact the biggest number of people. Air, main water
supplies, food. The most dangerous is through the air.”

The manual explores a variety of means to spread “chemical or biological
agent” over a wide area – including rockets and missiles, suicide missions
in cars, and contamination of air-conditioning systems.

The laptop revelations came as Islamic State issued more recordings of
massacres by it forces including the beheading of a captured Kurdish
peshmerga soldier. An Islamic State video entitled “A message in blood
to the leaders of the American-Kurdish alliance,” showed 15 peshmerga
dressed orange jumpsuits that it warned would be killed in retaliation for
Kurdish support for US intervention in Iraq.

The UN said yesterday that three million people had been made refugees from
the conflict in Syria and Iraq.

The Syrian civil war has seen as many as seven documented chemical weapons
attacks, involving the use of sarin, chlorine and ammonia gas against
residential areas. Investigations by human rights groups have found that the
Syrian regime had deployed weapons from the country’s stockpile.

However, experts have warned that the group of extremist Islamist groups makes
a chemical weapons attack by terrorists highly likely. Hamish de
Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of British nuclear, biological and
chemical weapons protection forces, said that the Islamic State has shown
interest in using chemical weapons already.

That the group had sought a fatwa from an Islamic scholar, which was also on
the computer, shows Islamic State had, unlike al-Qaeda, decided that
chemical weapons were a legitimate option on the battlefield.

“Al-Qaeda thought that biological weapons were beyond the pale but Islamic
State don’t have similar quandaries, especially since the Assad regime has
used them and people have seen how effective they are,” he said.

“It is difficult – but not impossible – to get people to ingest biological
spores, while the chemical stuff that Islamic State mentions shows they have
the intent to co-opt these weapons.”

Islamic State seized control of al-Muthanna, the storage facility that houses
Iraq’s stockpile of chemical weapons, in July.

Mr Gordon subsequently warned the material at the facility could be used by
Islamic State to make an improvised chemical weapon. The laptop shows it is
actively seeking ways of making chemical and biological bombs.

Al-Aan said the owner of the manual, which it only identified as a Tunisian
called Mohammad, had studied physics and chemistry at a university in his
homeland until 2011.

The documents recommended targeting confined spaces with large gatherings of
people, including underground train systems, football stadiums or shopping
complexes.

A separate file on the laptop contained a letter from an Islamic religious
expert, Sheikh Nasir al-Fahd, who is currently languishing in a Saudi
Arabian detention centre for terrorist sympathisers. The edict, or fatwa,
tells believers that Muslim fighters can use chemical or biological weapons
against the “infidel”.

“Looking to the American aggression against the Muslim people and their lands
during the past decades, you will conclude that it’s permissible (to attack
with weapons of mass destruction) under the

principal of reciprocity. Some brothers calculate the number of Muslim
casualties and they found it more than 10 millions killed by America,
directly and indirectly, the lands which were burnt by their bombs are
uncountable,” the fatwa said.

By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent