Follow-up of case AZE 210808_Sentencing and release of Mr. Emil Mammadov

Geneva, 13 October 2008

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information in the following situation in Azerbaijan.

New information

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and Antenna International, a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the sentencing of Mr. Emil Mammadov, son of Mr. Novruzali Mammadov, a fervent defender of the cultural rights of the Talysh people[1], an ethnic minority living in the south of Azerbaijan, who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on charge of high treason (see below).

According to the information received, Mr. Emil Mammadov was found guilty on 7 October 2008 by the Sabail District Court of Baku under article 234.1 of the Azerbaijan Criminal Code (illegal use of drugs). He was reportedly sentenced to one year suspended sentence, including six months probation, and according to article 93.1.4 to forced medical treatment (but without deprivation of liberty). He was released on 7 October 2008. There is currently no information whether Mr. Emil Mammadov will appeal his sentence.

Mr. Emil Mammadov had been arrested on 16 July 2008 for allegedly carrying “a small amount of drugs” and reportedly remained detained incommunicado at the investigatory jail of Ministry of Justice till his release. There is fear that Mr. Emil Mammadov has been subjected to torture or ill-treatment during his detention.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the safety and psychological integrity of Mr. Emil Mammadov, who, according to the information received, was detained and sentenced solely in order to pressure his father. This latter had lodged an appeal following his sentence (see below). OMCT recalls that Azerbaijan is a State party to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which both prohibit cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. OMCT also recalls to Azerbaijan that according to article 9 1) of the ICCPR “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention”.

Reminder of the Situation

According to the information received, on 16 July 2008 around 11:00pm, Mr. Emil Mammadov, who has reportedly suffered from mental illness since his childhood and has been registered in a specialised clinic since 2003, was abducted in front of his house. His mother, Mrs. Maryam Mammadov, reportedly tried to find him all night but she was only informed by phone on 17 July 2008 by a policeman from Sabail Region Police Station No. 9 that her son was being detained because “a small amount of drugs” was allegedly found on Mr. Emil Mammadov. When she tried to visit her son at the mentioned police station, she was reportedly informed that he had been moved to Khatai Region Pre-Trial Isolator where she found him being examined by doctors, lying unconscious on the ground. However, Mrs. Maryam Mammadov was reportedly not allowed to see her son and was requested to submit documents proving his mental condition to the investigatory department of Sabail police office. Although Mrs. Maryam Mammadov reportedly presented these documents, Mr. Emil Mammadov was not released but transferred to Bailov Pre-Trial Isolator following a decision, on 19 July 2008, by Khatai Region Court to sentence him to three-month pre-trial detention pending investigation (on charges of illegal use of drugs according to article 234.1 of the Criminal Code). Due to his mental condition, Mr. Emil Mammadov was reportedly always carrying prescribed medicines. Moreover, there was reportedly no information given by the police on the alleged drugs found on Mr. Emil Mammadov.

Mr. Emil Mammadov was detained at the investigatory jail of Ministry of Justice reportedly without access to his family and legal representation. It was further feared that he would not have access to appropriate medical care needed in view of his condition.

According to the same information, Mr. Emil Mammadov and his brother, Mr. Kamran Mammadov, who died of an infarct in September 2007, have already been abducted and subjected to psychological and physical violence reportedly because of their father’s activities. This latest event was allegedly intended to pressure Mr. Emil Mammadov’s father to withdraw the appeals he lodged following his sentence.

Indeed, Mr. Novruzali Mammadov[2] was reportedly sentenced, on 24 June 2008, by the Grave Crime Court to ten years in prison for high treason (article 274 of the Criminal Code the Azerbaijan Republic). The verdict was reportedly announced in an empty room in absence of Mr. Mammadov’s attorney, after a closed trial. According to the information received, he was falsely accused and sentenced because of his activity protecting the right of the Talysh ethnic minority. He is currently detained at the pre-trial prison waiting his appeal being heard. During his detention, he was reportedly beaten. He was also subject to physical and psychological pressure (including food and water deprivation, night interrogation and threats on his family).

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Emil Mammadov;
2. Ensure that, should Mr. Emil Mammadov appeal, all his procedural rights will be respected;
3. Put an end to all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Emil Mammadov;
4. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
5. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

• Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19 Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 492 06 25, +994 412 92 28 68, E-mail: office@apparat.gov.az, president@gov.az, root@lider.baku.az
• Prosecutor’s Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 492 06 82, +994 (12) 492 26 63, E-mail: prosec@azeri.com
• Minister of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, Lt.-Gen. Ramil Usubov, Fax: + 994 (12) 492 45 90
• Ministry of National Security Center of Public Relations, Baku, Parliament Avenue, 2, Tel: 493-76-22 Fax: +994 493-76-22, E-mail: cpr@mns.gov.az
• Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan, Prospekt Stroitelej, 1 Baku Azerbaijan, E-mail: contact@justice.gov.az, Tel: + 994 (12) 430 01 16, Fax: + 994 (12) 430 09 81
• Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 4, S. Qurbanov Str., Baku AZ 1009, Azerbaijan Tel: +994 (12) 596 90 00, Fax: +994 (12) 498 84 80, E-mail: secretariat@mfa.gov.az
• Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan, Rue de Lausanne 67, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, e-mail : az.mission.unog@iprolink.ch, fax: +4122 901 18 44
• Azerbaijani Embassy in Brussels, Avenue Moliere, 464, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 345 26 60, Fax: +32 2 345 91 85

Please also write to the embassies of Azerbaijan in your respective country.

Geneva, 13 October 2008

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

[1] and Head of the Talysh Cultural Center, Editor in chief of the Tolishi Sedo newspaper, and Department Head of the Linguistics Institute of the Science Academy.

[2] See the urgent appeal of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (joint programme OMCT- FIDH), AZE 001 / 0808 / OBS 139.