[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 149 (Wednesday, October 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13046-S13047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE IN AZERBAIJAN

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today Human Rights Watch released a 
statement condemning what it calls a ``brutal political crackdown'' in 
Azerbaijan following its flawed October 15 presidential elections. In 
the words of Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch, ``Azerbaijan is 
going through its most serious human rights crisis of the past decade. 
If this crackdown continues, there won't be an opposition left in 
Azerbaijan by the end of the month.'' I direct my colleagues' attention 
to Human Rights Watch's disturbing conclusions and ask unanimous 
consent that its report be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Azerbaijan: Government Launches Crackdown After Election, Hundreds of 
                      Opposition Members Arrested

       New York, October 22, 2003.--Azerbaijani authorities have 
     unleashed a massive and brutal political crackdown, arresting 
     hundreds of opposition leaders and activists since the 
     October 15 presidential election, Human Rights Watch said 
     today. Ilham Aliev, the son of the outgoing leader, was 
     elected president in a vote that international and local 
     observers said was marred by widespread fraud.
       ``The Azerbaijani authorities are using the post-election 
     violence, an affair in which they themselves played a major 
     role, to justify a massive crackdown on the opposition,'' 
     said Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch's senior emergencies 
     researcher. ``Arbitrary arrests have to stop. Those arrested 
     without cause must be released immediately, and those in 
     custody should have access to an attorney.''
       Human Rights Watch called on the government to publish a 
     full list of all those arrested in the aftermath of the 
     election, their

[[Page S13047]]

     whereabouts and the charges against them. Human Rights Watch 
     urged the international community to press the Azerbaijani 
     government to launch an independent commission, with 
     international participation, to investigate election fraud.
        Almost immediately after the polls closed on October 15, 
     violence erupted between opposition supporters and the 
     police. Later that evening, Azerbaijani security forces 
     attacked peaceful opposition supporters gathered outside the 
     headquarters of the main opposition party, Musavat 
     (``Equality''), injuring at least 50 protesters.
        Most of the arrests have occurred since October 16, when 
     attempts by the security forces to prevent a march organized 
     by the opposition turned violent. For details, please see 
     Human Rights Watch press release ``Azerbaijan: Post-Election 
     Clashes Turn Deadly.''
        Human Rights Watch has been able to confirm at least 190 
     arrests of opposition leaders and supporters, although the 
     actual number of detainees is much higher. For example, the 
     Minister of Interior stated on October 17 that 190 persons 
     had been detained during the October 16 violence alone. Many 
     of those arrested were beaten while being taken into custody.
        The charges, if any, against those detained are unknown, 
     as in many cases they have not had access to counsel.
        Several national leaders of the opposition have been among 
     those arrested, including Sardar Jalaloglu, secretary-general 
     of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP), taken from his home 
     on October 18 by armed masked men; Igbal Agazadeh, chair 
     of the Umid (``Hope'') Party, arrested on October 17; 
     Panah Huseinov, chair of the Khalq (``Nation'') Party, and 
     a former prime minister of Azerbaijan, arrested on October 
     19; and Vagif Hajibeili, chair of the Ahrar party, 
     arrested on October 17.
       Most of the national leaders are being held at the 
     Organized Crime Unit of the Ministry of Interior, a 
     department that routinely uses torture and other physical 
     abuse against detainees, according to Human Rights Watch 
     research. For details, please see Human Rights Watch briefing 
     paper ``Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003.''
       The main opposition leader and presidential contender Isa 
     Gambar, chair of the Musavat party, is under house arrest, 
     and his bodyguards have been detained. Several Musavat deputy 
     chiefs have been arrested, including Sulheddin Akper, deputy 
     chief for international affairs; Ibrahim Ibrahimli, deputy 
     chief for humanitarian affairs; Arif Hajiev, deputy chief for 
     organizational affairs; and Mirbaba Babaev, a member of the 
     Musavat supreme council.
       The campaign of arrest has also focused on members of the 
     ``Our Azerbaijan'' bloc, including many civil society 
     leaders, who supported the candidacy of Musavat leader Isa 
     Gambar. Mehti Mehtiev, director of the Human Rights Resource 
     Center, was arrested at his home on October 18. Itimar 
     Asadov, chair of the Karabakh Invalids Association, was 
     arrested on October 17. The security forces also attempted to 
     arrest Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, a major religious leader and the 
     head of the Center for the Protection of Conscience and 
     Religious Freedom; he received refuge in the Norwegian 
     Embassy after two of his associates, Azad Nazimanoglu and 
     Najaf Allahverdiyev, were arrested on October 17.
       The authorities have also detained local opposition 
     activists in villages and towns throughout Azerbaijan. For 
     example, on October 17, police in the town of Saatli arrested 
     Agarza Miriev, the local Musavat chief; Beibala Akperov, his 
     deputy; Mikhail Humbatov, chair of the local ADP branch; 
     Chingiz Umudov, the local chief of the Liberal Party; and 
     Fakhreddin Abdiev, the local chief of the Azerbaijan Popular 
     Front Party (APFP).
       Among other local leaders whose arrest Human Rights Watch 
     has been able to confirm are: the chairs or deputy chairs of 
     the Musavat party branches of Ali Bairamli, Gazakh, Gabala, 
     Ismaili, and Jalilabad, Sumgait; the head of the ADP branches 
     in Ali Bairamli, Imishli, and Zagatla; the chairs of the 
     Azerbaijani National Independence Party (ANIP) branches in 
     Ganja, Quba, and Shamkir; and the chairs of the APFP branches 
     in Jalilabad and Siazan. Human Rights Watch also confirmed 
     the arrest of the head of the Umid party in Ali Bairamli. All 
     of their names are on file with Human Rights Watch.
       In addition, the Azerbaijani authorities have arrested 
     dozens of opposition members who served as observers and 
     polling-station officials during the October 15 election 
     because they refused to sign vote tallies from their polling 
     stations that they believed were fraudulent. The tallies, 
     known as protocols, require the signatures of polling-station 
     officials. In the town of Ganja alone, Human Rights Watch has 
     obtained the names of 32 opposition polling-station officials 
     who are currently being detained for their refusal to sign 
     fraudulent vote tallies.
       International monitors from the Organization for Security 
     and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe and 
     the National Institute for Democracy (NDI) have confirmed 
     widespread fraud on election day. According to many reports, 
     the families of opposition election officials who refused to 
     sign forged protocols have also come under pressure and been 
     victims of intimidation from government officials, and in 
     some cases have themselves been arrested.
       Human Rights Watch calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to 
     immediately end the crackdown against members of the 
     opposition. Human Rights Watch further urged the Azerbaijani 
     government to carry out a prompt, independent and impartial 
     investigation into the violence plaguing the country prior 
     and subsequent to the election, and to investigate and 
     prosecute security officials and others implicated in abuses. 
     Urgent international action is needed to prevent a further 
     decline in human rights conditions in Azerbaijan, Human 
     Rights Watch stressed.
       Human Rights Watch also urges the Council of Europe and the 
     OSCE, together with the United States and the European Union, 
     to press the Aerbaijani government to form an independent 
     commission to investigate election fraud. Election experts 
     from the Council of Europe and OSCE should be part of this 
     commission.
       ``Azerbaijan is giong through its most serious human rights 
     crisis of the past decade,'' said Bouckaert. ``If this 
     crackdown continues, there won't be an opposition left in 
     Azerbaijan by the end of the month.''

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