During the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that kicked off in Strasbourg, Norwegian MP Lise Christoffersen addressed the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. As the main rapporteur on the topic " Deteriorating situation of human rights, rule of law and democracy in Azerbaijan," she highlighted the concerns regarding the worsening state of these issues in the country.
In particular, Lise Christoffersen said:
On 24th of January, our Assembly resolved not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation. The Assembly was among other things worried about the lack of cooperation in monitoring procedure and lack of invitation to observe the early presidential election of February 7th. It also cited the human rights situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, as we approach the COP 29, recent developments point in the wrong direction. The Azerbaijani authorities decided not to invite the Assembly to observe the early parliamentary election of September 1. On 26 August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared Persona Non Grata the 76 members of our Assembly who had voted in favour of the non-ratification of the Azerbaijani delegation. The ban will only be lifted if their delegation's participation in the Assembly is restored. Moreover, the way in which the parliamentary election of 1 September was conducted raises again concerns about respect for democratic standards.
The election code does not meet international standards, including the recommendations of the ODI, the Venice Commission and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. As stressed by the ODI, the election took place in a restrictive political and legal environment which resulted in a contest devoid of competition. During the election day, independent media reported widespread instances of violence against independent candidates, carousel voting in favour of pro-government candidates, ballot stuffing, unregistered voters and serious irregularities in the vote counts. The ruling New Azerbaijani Party won 68 of 125 seats in the Mili-Maclis, the rest of seats being occupied by so-called independent candidates. The leading opposition, Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, did not take part in the election for the seventh straight time.
The turnout was just 37.3%, the lowest figure in all elections. Moreover, the election of September 1st took place against the background of continued repression of dissenting voices characterized by increased restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association, with continuing crackdown on political activists, critics, civil society and media representatives. A few months before the election, the authorities arrested dozens of journalists, such as those from Toplund TV, Absas Media, and Channel 13, who had professional experience in covering elections.
Turan, one of the few independent media left, is exposed to continuous pressure. The authorities also arrested civil society activists with experience in monitoring elections. As our president pointed out yesterday, the Vaclav Havel Prize winner, Anar Mamadli, is back in prison, as well as Aki Gurbanov, one of the candidates shortlisted for this year's prize. Further arrests occurred this summer. At the end of July, during the candidate nomination and registration phase, government critic and former diplomat Emin Ibrahimov was arrested on charges of hooliganism. According to some reports, he was subjected to electric torture. Moreover, a Talish researcher Igbal Abilov, who resides in Belarus, was placed in detention on remand on charges of treason and ethnic hatred. 21st political analyst and doctoral candidate at the Charles University in Prague, Samadom was apprehended by the State Security Service on charges of treason while attempting to leave the country. In August, new serious charges were brought against six journalists and economist Farid Miralizadeh in connection with the Abzas Media case. These new charges have increased the potential maximum sentence to 12 years of imprisonment.
The overall human rights situation in Azerbaijan remains dire. Local human rights groups have reported that at least 303 individuals were imprisoned on political grounds. In addition, we face the unsolved situation around the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives who are still detained in Azerbaijan, as mentioned in our Resolution 2483 of 2023, in addition to the fear of ethnic and cultural cleansing after Azerbaijan took control over Nagorno-Karabakh. It should also be noted that since the end of January 2024, the authorities refused to hold high-level talks in Baku with the CPT, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and inhumane or degrading treatment or punishments. Last June, they also refused to accept it as opiolysis. Moreover, none of the CPT's key long-standing recommendations regarding allegations of torture and ill-treatment have been implemented.
On July 3, the CPT made an unprecedented statement about the persistent lack of cooperation by the Azerbaijani authorities and decided to publish its report of the 2022 ad hoc visit to the country. To conclude, all these developments are very deplorable. The level of suppression seems unprecedented and complicate even more cooperation with the Assembly and the Council of Europe.
We should strongly condemn lack of cooperation with the Assembly and the CPT, but we should also hope that these negative developments will not lead to a permanent rupture in relations with the Azerbaijani authorities. We should stand ready for a dialogue and support the authorities in taking steps to uphold the fundamental values to which they subscribe when they join the Council of Europe. However, if there is no improvement as regards our mutual cooperation and the overall situation in the country, we should remain vigilant and defend our values.
