Vilnius – Oslo- Geneva – Baku – Kiev – Chisinau – Minsk – Moscow.

14 August 2014

Statement by lawyers and advocates of the Human Rights House Network Program

“International Law in Advocacy”

“Detention of Intigam Aliyev is an attempt of reprisal against the human rights movement in Azerbaijan”

On 8 August 2014 the head of partner organisation of the “International Law in Advocacy” program in Azerbaijan Intigam Aliyev was detained on charges of tax evasion, abuse of office and illegal business. According to the statement of Intigam Aliyev, all the charges have no legal basis, but are politically motivated.

Intigam Aliyev is a lawyer with a unique pedagogic talent, who brilliantly taught human rights in more than 100 programs, and was training judges, lawyers and journalists in Azerbaijan and beyond. Intigam Aliyev is the president of the NGO “Legal Education Society”. Since 2009 he actively cooperates with the project of distance learning for lawyers in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, and is an expert of several international organizations such as OSCE, the Council of Europe, the American Bar Association (ABA ROLI). He effectively shared his experience with alumni, participants and experts of the Program during conferences, and while being a tutor of the HELP program of the Council of Europe.

The author of ten bills, more than twenty books and hundreds of articles on human rights, the winner of the annual award «Homo Homini» in 2012 by the international organization «People in Need», which he received for personal bravery, Intigam Aliyev for many years has been protecting political prisoners in courts, and won 25 cases for them in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Currently, the ECHR concludes communication of 40 cases prepared by Intigam Aliyev in connection with violations of electoral rights during the 2010 parliamentary elections.

We, the participants of the “International Law in Advocacy” program, believe, that the real reason for the arrest of Intigam Aliyev is his human rights work and numerous appeals to the European Court of Human Rights. As it became known, the documents on many of the cases pending in the ECHR, now, after the search and arrest of Intigam, are in possession of the law enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan.

In our opinion, the detention of Intigam Aliyev on fabricated charges is an attempt to interfere with the protection of victims of human rights violations and public interests violations, as well as a

 

 

 

 

massive attack on the minds of other Azerbaijani human rights defenders in order to intimidate them into abandoning their activities. The professional community of lawyers and advocates of the former Soviet space has suffered a huge loss.

Arrests, freezing of accounts of many non-governmental organizations and their leaders, are links in the overall chain of actions aimed at silencing civil society voice against violations. Actions of public authorities in relation to Intigam Aliyev and other human rights defenders (in particular, Leyla and Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov), who were arrested in recent weeks, indicate the non-compliance of the state with the international legal standards set forth in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna, as well as the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (55/144), UN Human Rights Council Resolution 22/6 of the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (A/HRC/22/L.13), particularly paragraphs 9, 11 and 14, which call on states to:

firstly, to refrain from, and ensure adequate protection from, any act of intimidation or reprisals against those who cooperate, have cooperated or seek to cooperate with international institutions,

secondly, to provide such conditions for activity of human rights defenders which will not interfere with their independence, including the origin of funds for these purposes will not impose against human rights defenders discriminatory restrictions, criminalization or delegitimization of their actions to promote and protect human rights,

thirdly, to ensure the transparency and certainty of application of legal provisions affecting human rights defenders, in order to avoid potential abuses by the state in the form of the use of unreliable evidence, arbitrary investigations and arrests that often impede the prompt closure of all unsubstantiated cases.

Tax evasion charges set against Intigam Aliyev and other human rights defenders by the authorities of Azerbaijan is one of the methods used by those states who want to silence human rights defenders. Generalizing the negative practices of the recent years, said resolution formulates the standards to be followed by the states to facilitate the work of those who defend human rights in their country.

 

Lawyers and human rights defenders

who have signed the Statement prepared by lawyers and advocates of the Human Rights House Network Program “International Law in Advocacy”

“Detention of Intigam Aliyev is an attempt of reprisal against the human rights movement in Azerbaijan”

http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/20372.html http://helsinki.org.ua/index.php?id=1408353856

(on the situation as at 22 August 2014)

1.         Dmitry Zhary, lawyer, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine

2.         Serhiy Burov, MART NGO, Educational Human Rights House – Chernihiv

3.         Iryna Brokh, Educational Human Rights House – Chernihiv

4.         Denis Murza, MART NGO, Ukraine

5.         Igor Guritanu, lawyer, Chisiniau, Moldova

6.         Dmytro Gudyma, lawyer, associate professor, Department of Law, the  Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine

7.         Serhiy Volochai, For Professional Aid NGO, Ukraine

8.         Lilia Gulka, lawyer, Chisiniau, Moldova

9.         Nasta Lojka, human rights defender, Minsk, Belarus

10.       Liudmyla Zhelezniak, lawyer

11.       Alexander Shadrin, lawyer, Kharkiv

12.       Alexander Lapin, lawyer, Kyiv, Ukraine

13.       Fariz Namazly, Intigam Aliyev’s lawyer, Azerbaijan

14.       Liubov Mosseeva-Helier, human rights defender, Kaluga, Russian Fedearation

15.       Victoria Fiodorova, lawyer, Homiel, Belarus

16.       Maxim Siurenko, lawyer, Kyiv, Ukraine

17.       Natalia Gurkovskaya, lawyer, Ukraine

18.       Irina Dedkovskaya, lawyer, Ukraine, Kyiv

19.       Veaceslav Tsurcan, lawyer, Head of the Law Company “Veaceslav Tsurcan & Co”, Chair of the Human Rights Embassy

20.       Elena Denisenko, lawyer, Russia

21.       Gennady Okolov, lawyer, Veliky Novgorod, Russia

22.       Larisa MAXIM, avocat, Bălți, MOLDOVA

23.       Tanasieva Ludmila, avocat,Chisinau, Moldova

24.       Iryna Van, lawyer, Ukraine

25.       Dina Biygishieva, lawyer, Russia

26.       Yury Belsky, lawyer, Polotsk, Belarus

27.       Kastuś Mardźvincaŭ, journalist, Viciebsk, Biełaruś

28.       Sergey Ustinov, human rights defender, Minsk, Belarus

29.       Piotr Ivanov, human rights defender, Chairman of the Council General for the creation of For Honest Government international NGO, Viciebsk, Belarus

30.       Mikola Sharakh, lawyer, Polotsk, Belarus

31.       Andrei Zadorozhny, lawyer, Chisiniau, Moldova

32.       Pavel Levinau, human rights defender, Viciebsk, Belarus

33.       Vasily Yurevich, lawyer, Minsk, Belarus

34.       Alena Krasovskaya-Kasperovich, human rights defender, Belarus

35.       Nadia Kryvopalenko, MART NGO, Chernihiv, Ukraine

36.       Vladimir Bukshtynov, lawyer, Belarus

37.       Alexei Kroitoru, lawyer, Moldova

38.       Natalia Narozhnaya, lawyer, Belarus

39.       Palade Rodica, lawyer, Moldova

40.       Tatiana Dvortsova, lawyer, Vorkuta, Russia

41.       Ion Guzun, lawyer, Moldova

42.       Alexandra Vasilevich, human rights defender, Hrodna, Belarus

43.       Alexander Zarutsky, lawyer, Kyiv, Ukraine

44.       Olesea Doronceanu, avocat, Chisinau, Republica Moldova

45.       Alexander Kupchenia, lawyer, Belarus

46.       Alena Lutskovich, human rights defender, Homiel, Belarus

47.       Liudmila Ulyashyna, lawyer, Belarus (till 2000), International Law in Advocacy Program Manager

48.       Dina Shavtsova, lawyer, Minsk, Belarus

49.       Mikhail Matskevich, Legal Transformation Centre, Minsk, Belarus, participant of the Youth Human Rights Movement

50.       Anna Gerasimova, Director of the Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House

51.       Daria Svyrydova, lawyer, Ukraine

52.       Iurie Levinte, jurist, Chisinau, Moldova

53.       Marina Efimova, lawyer, Belarus

54.       Alexei Khvostik, lawyer, Belarus

55.       Lela Metreveli, Director of Human Rights Embassy

56.       Ion Cojocari, lawyer, Republic of Moldova

57.       Mihail Durnescu, lawyer, Republic of Moldova

58.       Leonid Markhotoko, lawyer, Belarus

59.       Ales Lapicki, human rights defender, Zhodzina, Republic of Belarus

60.       Vital Amialkovich, human rights defender, Slutsk, Belarus

61.       Alexander Petrovich, Zhodzina, Belarus

62.       Irina Poliadova, lawyer, Borisov, Republic of Belarus

63.       Natallia Matskevich, Belarus

64.       Ksenia Devlekanova, lawyer, Belarus

65.       Natalia Kutuzova, Anti-Discrimination Network, Minsk, Belarus

66.       Andrei Sushko, lawyer, Minsk

67.       Tamara Sergey, lawyer, Hrodna, Belarus

68.       Svetlana Drogalova, lawyer, Hrodna, Belarus

69.       Ara Zaharjan, Erevan, Armenia

70.       Аlexandr Kapuckij, human rights defender, Molodechno,  Belarus

71.       Constantin Gaber, lawyer, Republic of Moldova