[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4658-4659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     POLITICAL PRISONERS IN AZERBAIJAN, SAUDI ARABIA, AND ETHIOPIA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we have a number of challenging foreign 
policy issues at the moment--from Russian aggression in Ukraine to ISIL 
and the Syrian civil war to stemming climate change.
  Yet amid these larger demands, it is important to remember there are 
many smaller struggles going on all over the world that are also 
important--struggles for basic political freedoms which can still 
result in jailings or worse.
  Today I would like to mention a number of such brave individuals who 
are being detained for exercising or advocating for such democratic 
values.
  First, I am deeply troubled by the recent crackdown on human rights 
activists in Azerbaijan--part of a disturbing pattern in that country 
that has significantly deteriorated during the last year.
  The New York Times summed it up nicely in its recent editorial by 
describing Azeri President Aliyev as a modern-day ``Jekyll and Hyde'' 
who is able to convince the world that he plays nice with the West 
while creating one of the worst human rights records at the same time.
  Aliyev wants the world to believe that Azerbaijan is a model country 
that promotes moderate Islam, has strong relations with the West, and 
is an ideal host for the upcoming European games, yet it currently 
holds more political prisoners than Russia and Belarus combined--not a 
great distinction to be sure.
  At the end of 2014, Aliyev's henchmen brazenly raided Radio Free 
Europe/Radio Liberty offices in Baku, just weeks after the government 
arrested one of the country's best known investigative reporters, 
Khadija Ismayilova. After more than 2 months of detention, she was 
charged with embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion and 
abuse of power--similar charges to those of other human rights 
activists.
  Last August, Senators Cardin, Murphy, and I sent a letter to 
President Aliyev expressing our concern over the imprisonment of Anar 
Mammadli and Bashir Suleymanli, the chair and the executive director of 
the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, an organization 
that promotes free and fair elections in Azerbaijan.
  Recently, Bashir was finally released but his colleague Anar remains 
behind bars.
  Just prior, police arrested Leyla Yunus, the director of the 
Institute for Peace and Democracy. The very next week, the police 
followed up by arresting her husband, Arif Yunus; fellow activist, 
Rasul Jafarov, a human rights defender and chairman of the Human Rights 
Club; and Intigam Aliyev, the country's most prominent human rights 
lawyer and the 2012 winner of the prestigious Homo Homini Award for his 
work defending the rule of law in Azerbaijan.
  Last month, the Washington Post ran a powerful letter on its opinion 
page written recently by Khadija where she states that the reason she 
is in prison is because of the regime's corruption and vows to continue 
to expose that corruption. Less than a week later the Azeri government 
suddenly called for a closed-door trial and found her guilty of 
criminal libel.
  To quote her piece in the Post:

       The fight between good and evil goes on, and the most 
     important thing is that this fight should not end. If we can 
     continue to reject the thinking that is imposed on us and 
     believe that human dignity is not for sale, then we are the 
     winners, and they, our jailers both inside and outside 
     prison, are the losers.

  Sadly, this is just a snapshot of the many brave Azeris or 
organizations facing trumped-up charges or imprisonment for simply 
exercising basic political freedoms.
  To them, I say, the world is aware of your plight and courage. And to 
President Aliyev, I urge you to release your own people whose only 
offense has been to ask for a peaceful democratic Azerbaijan. You 
cannot be a part of the Western community of democracies while 
violating its core democratic principles.
  Second, Mr. President, is Saudi Arabia--a country that is an 
important ally to the United States on many issues and yet could not be 
more different when it comes to basic freedoms.
  I have spoken about human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia on the 
floor before--the troubling lack of freedoms for women and the use of 
obsolete blasphemy and apostasy laws to stifle freedom of religion and 
expression.
  In 2012, the Saudi Government imprisoned a young blogger named Hamza 
Kashgari for tweets considered blasphemous.
  Fortunately, after nearly 2 years, I was pleased to hear of his 
release.
  Writer and activist Raif Badawi, however, has not been so fortunate.
  Also imprisoned in 2012, Raif Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in 
prison and 1,000 lashes for apparently launching a Web site that 
suggested a peaceful discussion about religion.
  He received his first set of 50 lashes in public on January 9, and 
spent his 31st birthday in jail, severely wounded.
  His wife, Ensaf Haidar, who fled to Canada with their three children 
after she began receiving anonymous death threats because of her 
husband's case, fears her husband may not be able to physically 
withstand another round of lashings.
  I was relieved to hear that after international outrage about this 
treatment as well as serious concern about his health, Raif's next 
rounds of floggings have been repeatedly postponed. His case was 
referred to the Supreme Court in Riyadh only to be returned back to the 
Court of Appeals in Jeddah, where reports indicate he may be retried 
and even worse, could face the death penalty.
  Raif's lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair, a prominent human rights activist 
in his own right and head of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi 
Arabia, was himself arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison 
followed by a ban on travel for 15 years.
  Also concerning is that his case was taken up by the Specialized 
Criminal Court in Jeddah, which was created in 2008 to deal with 
terrorist suspects but has also taken to trying human rights activists 
on dubious charges.
  I sent a letter to Saudi Arabia in January along with several 
colleagues--Senators Leahy, Shaheen, Rubio, Feinstein, Wyden, Kirk, and 
Boxer--urging the release of both Raif and Waleed.
  My staff has also met with Samar Badawi--she is Waleed's wife and 
Raif's sister, and she is an activist in her own right--it is a whole 
family of activists. For years she has been a strong advocate for 
women's rights in Saudi Arabia and has served her own time in jail for 
it.
  In fact, in 2012, she was one of the recipients of the International 
Women of

[[Page 4659]]

Courage Award from the State Department.
  Samar and others have raised the profile of countless women who have 
stood up for their rights in a country where zealous interpretations of 
religion and traditional customs guide Saudi laws, like the one 
requiring all women to have a male guardian.
  The guardianship law automatically restricts Saudi women from 
driving, as many of you know, but also from making their own choices 
regarding marriage and divorce, employment, travel, banking, and 
countless other basic life decisions.
  Raif, Waleed, and Samar are only a few of the many independent 
activists and peaceful dissidents in Saudi Arabia who have faced 
persecution.
  Now, like many of you, I was saddened to hear of the passing of King 
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on January 23. Many have described him as a man 
of vision, peace, and reform.
  As his brother, Salman, takes the seat as the new King of Saudi 
Arabia, I hope he will take every opportunity to free Raif, Waleed, and 
others jailed on account of their beliefs, to allow greater room for 
political debate and freedoms, and renounce any further prosecutions 
under charges of apostasy or blasphemy.
  Last, Mr. President, I would like to turn the attention toward 
Ethiopia, a country I last visited in 2010, when I had the opportunity 
to meet with then-Prime Minister Meles.
  Meles' government made many advances and Ethiopia was and remains an 
ally and leader a difficult region. It has also received millions over 
the years in development assistance from the United States.
  And yet, Ethiopia continues to be a country with a troubling human 
rights record, particularly regarding freedom of the press.
  Many had hoped that new Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam would 
bring a change to his late predecessor's human rights policies.
  Unfortunately, last July the Ethiopian Government charged six 
bloggers and three journalists--known collectively as the Zone 9 
Bloggers--under a broadly used terrorism law, despite any credible 
evidence be offered.
  Sadly, these bloggers seem to have been arrested to narrow the 
already small space for free media expression in Ethiopia.
  Some of you may have heard of Eskinder Nega, a prominent independent 
journalist who was critical of the Ethiopian Government and was 
detained on eight different occasions before being convicted in 2012 on 
terrorism charges and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
  Others may know of Reeyot Alemu, a schoolteacher and columnist with 
one of Ethiopia's last remaining independent papers was also convicted 
in 2012 on counts of terrorism and sentenced to 5 years in prison. 
Reeyot has breast cancer and is in desperate need of urgent and proper 
medical care beyond what prison can provide.
  Both Eskinder and Reeyot have won prestigious international awards 
for their work while serving prison terms. Both represent the plight of 
their countless colleagues in the industry who have suffered threats, 
intimidation, politically motivated prosecutions, and even physical 
abuse.
  I sent a letter with Senators Boxer and Menendez to the Ethiopian 
Government about the Zone 9 Bloggers last summer and I know Secretary 
Kerry has also raised their cases. I am troubled to hear that a fair 
and transparent trial for them only continues to be delayed.
  In fact, their case was adjourned 20 times before the group finally 
had the opportunity to plead not guilty in court last month, only to be 
adjourned again for March 30, just shortly before the Ethiopian general 
elections in May.
  Prime Minister Hailemariam, you have an opportunity to turn the page 
on your country's human rights record by reversing a troubling pattern 
of press harassment.
  These are just a few of the many political prisoners around the globe 
that struggle, often at great risk, for a better future for their 
fellow countrymen and women and for their children. I want them and 
their families--and the governments unjustly holding them--to know that 
they are not forgotten.
  I will continue to draw attention to their plight and work for their 
release, along with my colleagues here in Congress and their countless 
advocates around the world.

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