Azerbaijan: International scrutiny of Farhad Aliyev case grows

Rovshan Ismayilov 10/30/06

More than a year after his arrest, the case of Farhad Aliyev, the former minister of economic development charged with plotting a coup on the eve of Azerbaijan's 2005 parliamentary elections, has yet to come to court. Meanwhile, international publicity for the case is growing.

On October 25, United States Senator John McCain (Republican – Arizona) sent a letter to Azerbaijan's ambassador to Washington that expressed concern about the delay in granting Farhad Aliyev a public hearing. The senator, an influential member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services with an interest in human rights issues in Central Asia and the Caucasus, urged the Azerbaijani government "to follow the letter and spirit" of international agreements it has signed that call for the right to due process and to political opposition, and for the humane treatment of prisoners.

"I urge your government to, at a minimum, formally charge the Aliyev brothers (if the government continues to suspect them of criminal activity), fully inform them of all charges, provide access to evidence against them, afford full access to legal counsel of their choice, and provide immediate, unfettered access to appropriate medical practitioners," the letter read.

Farhad Aliyev and his brother, Rafiq, then president of the Azpetrol oil company, were arrested in October 2005 on suspicion of plotting a coup against President Ilham Aliyev. [For details, see the EurasiaNet Insight.] An accusation was later brought against Farhad Aliyev by a former interior ministry official on trial for a string of kidnappings and murders, that he had ordered the 2005 death of journalist Elmar Huseynov. [For details, see the EurasiaNet Insight.] Both Aliyevs have denied the charges.

Senator McCain is one of several US Congress members who is querying the Azerbaijani government about Farhad Aliyev's case, according to Yelena Postnikova, a spokesperson for Azerbaijan Democracy Initiative, a Washington, DC-based organization known for its advocacy of Farhad Aliyev's case. "While the Azerbaijani government issues new charges against ... Aliyev, none of those charges has been supported with proper facts," commented Postnikova. "Farhad Alieyv's case has no grounds other than political motivation."

International human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have already voiced similar concerns.

A case for the violation of Aliyev's right to a fair trial has already been registered with the Council of Europe's European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Aside from a group of defense attorneys in Azerbaijan, Aliyev's legal team includes American lawyer Charles Both, a frequent international human rights defense advocate, as well as British barrister Lord Lester (Queen's Counsel) and the solicitors Trowers & Hamlins, who will handle the case against Azerbaijan before the European Court of Human Rights.

On October 28, Both, who represents both Farhad and his brother, Rafig Aliyev, the former president of Azpetrol oil company, published a 14-page report on the Aliyev brothers' case that charged that the accusations against both men were "the direct result of Farhad Aliyev's position in open favor of Azerbaijan[‘s] integration into the international community, closer ties with the United States, European Union and international organization[s], and successful implementation of economic reforms and antimonopoly policy all of which run counter to the interests of many powerful domestic players."

The lawyer demanded that both brothers be immediately released from pre-trial detention pending trial and be allowed to consult freely with defense counsels with access to evidence to be used against them in a public trial.

On October 4, a district court judge prolonged Aliyev's detention for an additional six months while the investigation into his case continues, news outlets reported.

Jamil Hasanli, an opposition member of parliament and member of Aliyev's defense committee in Azerbaijan, reports that, to date, the ex-minister's interrogations have not exceeded 15 hours. "No investigation operations have been conducted," Hasanli asserted. "So there is no need to keep this person in prison if they fail to prove any of their allegations."

In response, the General Prosecutor's Office spokesperson, Vugar Aliyev, says that investigators are doing their best to finish their work; the deadline for bringing the case to court will expire in April.

Under the Azerbaijani criminal code, Aliyev continued, pre-trial detention can last for up to 18 months. "Farhad Aliyev was arrested just a year ago. We try to make the detention shorter. But the case is very complicated," Aliyev said. "We have to communicate with other countries' law enforcement agencies for interrogation of individuals residing there," he continued. Aliyev did not specify which individuals are being questioned abroad or why.

International human rights reports and US lawyer Both have also questioned the conditions under which Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev are allegedly being held. Both maintains that both men are being kept in solitary confinement, and are forbidden to meet with their families and legal counsel. Together with the lack of adequate medical care, their treatment amounts to psychological torture, his report claimed.

Meanwhile, defense committee members in Azerbaijan say that Farhad Aliyev's life is under threat in prison. The alleged August 27, 2006 suicide of Alihuseyn Shaliyev, a former economic development ministry department chief arrested in connection with Aliyev's case, has fueled those fears. The ex-economic development minister suffers from hypertension, and was earlier hospitalized for treatment.

So long as the detention period has not been exceeded, the General Prosecutor Office's Aliyev continued, the international community should refrain from commentary. Without first passing through the Azerbaijani court system, he argued, a case about Farhad Aliyev cannot be brought before the European Court of Human Rights. "The rights of Farhad Aliyev have not been violated," Aliyev stressed. "Farhad Aliyev has been provided with a lawyer and medical treatment."

Editor's Note: Rovshan Ismayilov is a freelance reporter based in Baku.

Posted October 30, 2006 © Eurasianet