Azerbaijan is only a country of laws when it comes to members of the opposition.  For members of the government, the law never really seems to apply.  For example, we have seen the injustice of nepotism when the son of a high-ranking government official causes a fatal car crash, but is never subsequently prosecuted.  Then the matter just seems to disappear like mist on a summer’s morning.  Alternatively, in a worst-case scenario, justice becomes incredibly lenient with the perpetrator being sentenced to a mere one year and then only serving half that time for “good behavior.” 

 

In stark contrast, we have another situation when key opposition figure Oktay Gulaliyev was viciously assaulted, in a hit and run, and has been bed-bound for the last year as a result.  Truly appalling and a perfect snap-shot of the injustice that Azerbaijan presently languishes under.  The driver of that vehicle, a suspected government agent, received a derisory ten days in jail for driving without caution. 

 

Another example?  We have the case of Tofig Yagublu – a man of the highest integrity, mental fortitude, impeccable credentials and highly thought of in the Azerbaijani opposition.  In every conceivable situation, he has been subject to a custodial sentence.  He was falsely accused of agitating for a coup and also unjustly detained for having the “audacity” of attending his own rallies against the government. Yagublu has never once stopped in his objective criticism of the government that is increasingly looking like a dictatorship under President Aliyev. 

 

Yagublu’s harrowing story does not stop there either.  While he was in jail, his youngest daughter, Nargis Yagabulu (also a prominent political activist) passed away.  His oldest daughter Nigar Hezi was sentenced to two and a half years of jail time, simply because of her political views.  As if that wasn’t enough to bear, his son-in-law, Seymur Hezi was also imprisoned for five years, on a false accusation, simply because of his political activism. 

The entire family has been tirelessly fighting for freedom of speech, democracy and human rights.  Despite all of the burden, Tofig Yagubulu has never given up.  Not once has he asked Aliyev for a pardon, despite his time in prison having cost him in terms of his health and other personal issues. 

 

Right after being released from six years in prison, Tofig Yagublu was again arrested and detained for 30 days for simply participating in an anti-government rally in February 2020.  We know why though – as part of that protest, he had raised his voice in opposition to the vote-rigging for the national parliament. 

 

As if that wasn’t enough injustice, there is, unbelievably, more.  Yagublu was also arrested on the basis of further trumped up charges.  In this case, Yagublu was simply parked at the front of a shopping center.  Another car then hit his car and, bizarrely, alleged that Yagublu had hit his car and then assaulted the driver and his wife!  Tellingly, the driver of the car that hit Yagublu had been trained by the government’s “special people” so as to manufacture an incident that would send him back to jail.  Right after that, Yagublu was sentenced to another four and a half years in a maximum-security prison.  Compare that sentence for a fabricated car accident compared to the Yagublu’s assailant, who killed two people, and received an almost laughably short jail sentence.  This is totally crazy and utterly unacceptable! 

 

 

The bottom line is, where is the law in our country and just why is the President seemingly so scared of the Yagublu family?  What is it that is driving him to such extreme actions?  Is it because he knows, deep in his heart, that he is wrong and Yagublu is right?  Undoubtedly, the Yagublu family have continued to show incredible strength of character and rock-solid fortitude when it comes to everything that they have been through.

09.16.2020

Namig Aghayev (KING)

Long Island U.S.

Freedom inevitably always comes at a cost.  Such has been the story of human history to date.  Sweeping grand armies and large-scale movements of liberation and civil rights always grab the headlines – and rightly so.  Yet there are though any number of brave individuals fighting for their freedom and those of their fellow citizens, that while not of that same grand-scale, still carry the same moral weight of conviction and just cause.  High-profile investigative journalist, blogger and photographer Mehman Huseynov falls firmly into that category. 

Huseynov astutely used social media to effectively bring corruption in Azerbaijan to the attention of his fellow citizens.  The response of the authorities to that has been brutal.  In early 2017, he was arrested and physically assaulted while held in police custody.  When the case was heard in Court, despite a judge that asked for the matter to be properly investigated, the police department in question doubled down and launched fabricated “defamation” charges against Huseynov – for the “slandering of the department” – which then lead to a sentence of two years in prison.  Totally uncalled for.  Totally unjust.  Yet totally acceptable in today’s Azerbaijan.

It is of course common practice in President Aliyev’s Azerbaijan for the ruling family and those around them to crack down on journalists that they deem to be critical of them by launching defamation and other civil and criminal actions against journalists and the free press.

The real reason for Huseynov’s unjust incarceration in 2017 was, of course, that he has a history of being committed to exposing the reality of government corruption and their money-soaked lives.  The sort of corrupt lives that allow them to build mansions and palaces at the expense of the people who struggle in every day financial hardship.

Add to that that Huseynov has also been a long-term critic of close circle of President Aliyev and his corrupt regime in general.  Huseynov identified how they casually and regularly degrade civil liberties and the freedom of the press in Azerbaijan every day.  Keep that in mind and you start to get the real picture as to why he was imprisoned.

With just a couple of months of his sentence left to run, the authorities decided that they hadn’t yet finished with Huseynov.  In late December 2018, it was reported that Huseynov had been hit with a further charge of “resisting a representative of the authorities with the use of violence dangerous to his health and life.”

How convenient.  Especially so as throughout his time in prison, Huseynov received any number of direct approaches from representatives of the Aliyev regime telling him to cease and desist in his criticism of the government – something that Huseynov refused to do, even behind bars, as one would expect of a man of such integrity. 

To add insult to injury, Huseynov’s mother passed away in August 2018.  In a staggering display of vindictiveness, he was denied compassionate leave to visit her in her final hours.

If found guilty of this latest charge (and who would be betting against that, given what has happened so far), Huseynov faces up to anywhere between an extra five to seven years further in prison.

Understandably, Huseynov’s case has been roundly condemned by both IFEX, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety and Reporters Without Borders.  And the criticism of both his incarceration and the corrupt, repressive regime that currently hangs over Azerbaijan is not just limited to those respectable institutions.  The new US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Earle D. Litzenberger, announced the following upon taking up his position:

“…democracies thrive only when bolstered by an independent judiciary, respect for the rule of law, a free media, a vibrant civil society, pluralism, democratic electoral processes, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Those are words that one would almost expect to find on the resume of Mehman Huseynov and certainly not on that of President Aliyev.

The authorities’ obsession with restricting voices of dissent and justified criticism continues unabated.  The dark clouds of oppression continue to gather over those who yearn for freedom and government accountability in all parts of the world, including of course Azerbaijan – something which Huseynov has been proud to be a prominent and effective part of exposing and challenging.

In response to the latest trumped up charges against him, being held in solitary confinement and being denied access to a lawyer, Huseynov began a no-liquid hunger strike in protest on 27^th December 2018.  A hunger strike with liquid is one thing, one without is yet another.  Within the space of just a few days, Huseynov’s health began to deteriorate markedly.  He is now in what is being called a critical condition and while he still has no access to a lawyer, he also has no access to medical help either.  That is absolutely unacceptable and a further stain on the tarnished reputation of the repressive Aliyev regime.

On 7^th January 2019, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, called on the Azerbaijani government to release Huseynov and respect and implement an environment of human rights – and therefore by extension, freedom of the press.

Unsurprisingly, supporters of the authorities have, despite the travesty of this case, launched thinly veiled attacks on Huseynov – even as he languishes in solitary confinement and in a precarious, potentially deadly, state of health.  MP Sahib Aliyev (you will note the coincidence of the last name…) condemned Huseynov as “not being a journalist” and hinted that Huseynov had essentially brought this all upon himself as if it were no one else’s fault, as recently as January 9^th 2019. Quite how that works is anyone’s guess as despite the job title that Huseynov may or may not have, his unjust treatment for simply exposing corruption and shining a light on the truth in Azerbaijan remains just the same.

Should Huseynov pass away, then the world will be worse off for that and the search for truth will have taken another body blow.  The responsibility of this tragic waste of human life, that of a man who was simply committed to the principles of justice, government accountability and human rights, rests squarely with the authorities of Azerbaijan and no-one else.

Jan 09 2019
Namig Aghayev