When rape and fear is your only weapon

"[...] the policemen beat them, forced them to take their pants off, and threatened to rape them with truncheons and bottles if they did not confess to drug possession. Following the abuse, they confessed to drug possession before they were allowed to see their lawyer."

This is not a movie script. This is police brutality in Azerbaijan, member of Council of Europe, signatory to a number of international conventions and treaties. This is the country, whose president recently shook hands with President Obama, smiling, proud while people like Ilgar Mammadov and Khadija Ismayilova are kept in silence behind the bars in Azerbaijan prisons. 

This a country that hosts conventions, UN events, sporting events all the while stealing from its people and living off like kings at the expense of its people. 

It is a country where police never found perpetrators behind Elmar Huseynov, journalist who was brutally murdered in front of his house in 2005. It is a country where police never fully explained and got the bottom of a murder another journalist/writer Rafig Tagi. It is a country where police failed to find those were behind setting secret cameras in journalist Khadija Ismayilova's apartment, and those who later blackmailed her with sex tapes and released them online.

But is a country where police is quick to fabricate charges against activists and notable individuals. It is a country where police can easily "discover" following a "thorough investigation" substantial amounts of heroin or molotov cocktails or arms in homes of activists, journalists, and other government critics. 

It should not be surprising then it also happens to be a country featured in Panama Papers and where its leader is stealing off just fine. 

The opening quote in this post was from a recent reported published by Human Rights Watch documenting recent arrest of two youth activists and their treatment inside the police. The report also said, "They [the two young men] were also forced to clean the toilets and yard of the police station while police filmed them. While at the station trying to get access to Mammadov and Ibrahimov, Sadigov [lawyer] saw police kick and humiliate his clients as they cleaned the station yard. Sadigov tried to intervene to stop the ill-treatment, but police physically pushed him out of the station."

I understand Aliyev's personal pleasure in silencing his critics, but does this recent treatment indicates that he also gets pleasure from his thugs called police raping these people as well?

Azerbaijan continues to embarrass itself, and it is no longer funny

Few days ago, I received news that renowned British human rights lawyer Amal Clooney will represent the case of Khadija Ismayilova, Azerbaijan’s unlawfully jailed top investigative reporter at the European Court of Human Rights. Clooney together with Nani Jansen from the Media Legal Defense Initiative will act as Co-Council for Khadija and challenge the government of Azerbaijan on the grounds that Ismayilova’s extended pre-trial imprisonment violates the European convention. 

I was thrilled by the news. But I also knew that very soon pro government mouthpieces in Azerbaijan would start labeling Clooney and Jansen “Armenians” trying to damage the country’s international image as a country of tolerance, justice and thriving democracy. I also feared this would have an impact on my friend’s case. 

It didn’t take long before the theatrics unfolded. Trend.az, one of many puppet media outlets in Azerbaijan said, “A. Clooney is of Armenian dissent and represented Armenia before Swiss, Armenian, French and European Court of Human Rights on ‘Armenian genocide’. All the while “forgetting” to mention that Amal Ramzi Alamuddin was born in Beirut and that she moved to London together with her family during the civil war in Lebanon. 

Some of Amal Clooney’s high profile cases include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Yuliya Tymoshenko, and Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy- one of three Al-Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt and sentenced to 7 years. 

But the story on Trend.az does not mention any of that, nor did Azernews.az or many other outlets. “So, deeply committed to anti-Turkic ideals Amal Clooney now has taken to Azerbaijan, first to prove her loyalty to Armenian lobbyists and second, to undersign another big case without caring who wins”, bashed the article on Azernews. 

Refraining from bashing but sticking to Clooney’s work on the case of Armenia was also brought up in another local paper 525.az. 

This kind of slander is not uncommon in Azerbaijan. Often critics of the government get labeled various kinds of names and affiliations ranging from being Western agents to spies and last but not least traitors. Everyone who is critical of the government at home or abroad is an Armenian. In my recent piece for Open Democracy I tried illustrating how desperate the authorities in Azerbaijan are to cling to this naïve if not ridiculous accusation each time the country’s deteriorated democracy, human rights or freedom of expression record is spotted and criticized. 

So why continue sticking to this nonsense and endure embarrassment even further? This is merely a sign of weakness and inability to state facts indicating fragility not only of the whole system on which the government of Azerbaijan operates but also how biased if not completely feeble its apologists, media and advocates are. 

In the meantime, the European Court decided to prioritize two more of Khadija’s cases- the violation of privacy [secret camera footage] and the failure of the authorities to properly investigate and prosecute- according to Media Defense Initiative. 

Khadija also confirmed that prominent human rights lawyer will represent her case at the ECHR. Speaking to her lawyer Fariz Namazli Khadija said she agreed to Clooney’s offer because of her “courage” while defending Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy in 2014. 

Khadija Ismayilova was detained on December 5, 2014. Her original charge was her involvement in allegedly pushing a man to attempt suicide. But absurdity of these charges was so clear that even the authorities knew they could not keep Ismayilova in jail for long on this bogus accusation. After extending Ismayilova’s detention by additional two months, she was charged with a series of new “economic charges” ranging from tax evasion, to abuse of power and illegal entrepreneurship. In September 2015 Ismayilova was sentenced to 7.5 years in jail. 

But there was no attempt to suicide, nor were there any economic violations, these charges were the byproduct of the wild imagination of Azerbaijani officials afraid of Khadija’s work exposing government corruption in this small oil rich country. 

Perhaps, it is not surprising then that it is this wild imagination that keeps the country’s officials detached from the reality, stuck in a world of conspiracy theories and made up enemies all the while sticking to what they know and do best- humiliate, intimidate and silence.

Aliyev is suing French channel for calling him a despot

But President Aliyev is forgetting that France isn't Azerbaijan and while in Azerbaijan he can hire and buy out a whole court and prosecutor office to do as he pleases, things don't work the same way in France.

Last week, French TV aired an investigative piece (to me also work of art) about President Aliyev, his by now mastered caviar diplomacy, the country's corruption levels and poor rights record. Cash Investigation- the brain behind the show and its host, French journalist Elise Lucet was able to attend the opening gala of a photo exhibition ironically titled "Azerbaijan- the land of tolerance". Not only Lucet was able to attend the opening but she also was able to ask few questions to Mehriban Aliyev who was there (of course how could she not!) as the head of Heydar Aliyev Foundation who also happened to be the chief sponsor of the event.

Here is brief conversation:

Elise Lucet: Is your country really a land of tolerance?

Mehriban Aliyeva: Land of tolerance? Of course, it is. 

Elise Lucet: Because you have many political prisoners in jail right now in Azerbaijan.

Mehriban Aliyeva: It is not true. Just get correct information.

Elise Lucet: Do you know Leyla Yunus [repeats the question twice] or Khadija Ismayilova? They are in jail! They have been sentenced from 7.5 to 8.5 years in jail.

Needles to say, Lucet shortly after [like within seconds] was kicked all the way to the back of the crowd because security [of course] didnt like the questions. Even if Lucet tried explaining to the security that she is French journalist and that this was France the security was quick to say "This was not a press conference". He then asked her to "Please be silent [repeating it a few times] Be quiet!"

Anyhow, you can watch the whole show, and you are in luck especially if you are French speaker.

Turns out, the ruling family was unhappy about this encounter and the show so they hired Olivier Pardo to represent Azerbaijan. Padro turns to be the right person for the job. He already said the program while accusing Azerbaijan of being "strictest dictatorship" failed to present evidence. Looks like Padro also missed the whole episode or maybe didn't listen to the facts in the show. But then it is not surprising, because Padro also represented Equatorial Guinea in France in a case known as "ill-gotten gains" when anti-corruption NGOs managed to launch an investigation into the cases of three African leaders' names mentioned in large- scale fraud. Representing that case, Pardo said, "the case of the "ill-gotten gains" violated international law and that he would contest the case and pursue France through the international courts".  

Sadly that investigation didn't lead to concrete results as French Court stopped short of making a ruling saying an NGO Transparency International "could not itself bring a complaint against three African heads of state". 

Pardo's list of clients is full of "murky" figures. He also represented Imad Lahoud, computer specialist whose name popped up in an corruption investigation in France; Carlos Vejarano, the manager of the Arros Island in Seychelles, and used as tax heaven- and these are just a few based on a short google search.

So Pardo has a record of representing a certain kind of clients so it should come as no surprise he also took on the case of Aliyevs, who also fall perfectly well into this category. 

The question now is will this case actually receive any attention in France? So far French TV channel has not responded and many see this as a "warning". But warning to whom? To all international investigative organizations and independent television? 

Aliyev must really have forgotten what independent journalism is having silenced his own journalists...

The torch of Baku 2015 European Games presented

The torch of the 2015 European Games is presented and will travel across the country.

According to the Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov the torch represents "national and spiritual values".

To me this torch comes at the expense of people like Khadija Ismayil, Intigam Aliyev, Leyla Yunus and many others who are locked up behind bars for crimes they have not committed. It represents corruption, filthiness and dirt that Azerbaijani government is swimming in (now, that would be a game to compete in, during these games, guess who the winner would be then?!).

It stands for rights abuse, torture, lies, and intimidation. It represents silenced voices, despair and sadness.

It represents jail, crackdown and fear. 

It represents all the things that are wrong in Azerbaijan - wicked and corrupted leadership, uneducated society, struggling country barely surviving on "generous" salaries paid by the government. 

Catherine Ugwu, the director of ceremonies thinks the torch will create "perfect mood" as it travels across the country. Well Ms. Ugwu, how about you join the torch with a go-pro camera and visit remote villages of Azerbaijan where poverty is mind boggling, where people still have no heating or running water among so many other issues.

Now wouldn't that be a perfect mood setter?! But you won't do that. Because you have no respect for Khadijas, Leylas and Intigams.

But then why would you if our own government doesn't give a shit.