2011 Human Rights Reports: Azerbaijan
May
24, 2012
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Azerbaijan constitution provides for a republic with a presidential
form of government. Legislative authority is vested in the Milli Mejlis
(parliament). In practice the president dominated the executive, legislative,
and judicial branches of government. November 2010 Milli Mejlis elections did
not meet a number of key standards of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for democratic elections. Although there were more
than 50 political parties, the president’s party, the Yeni Azerbaijan Party,
dominated the political system. Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia’s
support, continued to control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the
country and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. The government did not
exercise any control over developments in those territories. Security forces
reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problem during the year was the
restriction of freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. For example,
throughout the year, but especially in the spring, several political protests
calling for democratic reform and the government’s resignation were forcefully
dispersed, and 15 protesters were sentenced to 18 months to three years in jail
for their participation in such protests. Applications to hold protests in Baku
were repeatedly denied throughout the year. A second significant human rights
problem involved the fairness of the administration of justice due to reports
of strong executive branch influence over the judiciary, lack of due process,
politically motivated imprisonments, measures against independent lawyers, and
reports of torture and abuse in police or military custody that resulted in at
least nine deaths. A third major problem area was the violation of citizens’
property rights, including forced evictions and demolitions on dubious eminent
domain grounds, and inadequate compensation.
Other human rights problems reported during the year included generally
harsh prison conditions that in some cases were life threatening. Arbitrary
arrest and detention, particularly of individuals considered by the government
to be political opponents, and lengthy pretrial detention continued. The
government continued to imprison persons for political reasons, although
authorities released some of these individuals during the year. The government
continued to restrict the religious freedom of some unregistered Muslim and
Christian groups. Pervasive corruption, including in the judiciary and law
enforcement organizations, continued. Cases of violence against women were also
reported. Trafficking in persons remained a problem.
The government failed to take steps to prosecute or punish most
officials who committed human rights abuses. Impunity remained a problem.
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