Author: Kalantarian Kevo

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
=================================================
Wednesday 1 May 2019
AZERBAIJAN: Supreme Court rejects conscientious objectors' appeals
Two Jehovah's Witnesses – given one-year suspended prison terms and
living under restrictions for refusing compulsory military service on
grounds of conscience – failed to overturn their criminal convictions at
the Supreme Court in April. Shia Imam Sardar Babayev, jailed for leading
Muslim worship after gaining religious education outside Azerbaijan, awaits
a European Court of Human Rights decision.
AZERBAIJAN: Supreme Court rejects conscientious objectors' appeals
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
Two conscientious objectors – both of them Jehovah's Witnesses – have
failed to overturn their criminal convictions at Azerbaijan's Supreme Court
in the capital Baku. The court rejected Emil Mehdiyev's appeal on 10 April.
It similarly rejected Vahid Abilov's appeal on 24 April. Both were given
one-year suspended jail terms in 2018 and have to live under restrictions.
Both sentences expire in October 2019, after which the men will still have
a criminal record.
Despite an explicit commitment to the Council of Europe ahead of its
accession in 2001, Azerbaijan has never established a civilian alternative
to compulsory military service for all young men (see below).
The Human Rights Ombudsperson's Office in Baku has not responded to Forum
18's December 2018 enquiry as to what action (if any) it had taken to
defend the rights of Mehdiyev and Abilov or push for an alternative
civilian service to be established in line with Azerbaijan's Council of
Europe commitment (see below).
Meanwhile, jailed Shia Muslim Imam Sardar Babayev is awaiting a decision in
his case from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, his lawyer
Javad Javadov told Forum 18. Babayev is the first (and so far only)
individual known to have been punished for the "crime" of leading worship
in a Muslim community after having gained his religious education outside
Azerbaijan (see below).
Muslim prisoner of conscience Telman Shiraliyev, given an extra nearly six
months' jail term in October 2018 for alleged violation of prison rules,
was freed on 18 February after a Baku court reduced his jail term by just
over a month. He had been jailed since 2012 for protesting against an
Education Ministry ban on girls wearing the hijab headscarf (see below).
Muslim theologian and prisoner of conscience Zulfuqar Mikayilzade (also
known as Mikayilov) was freed from prison on 17 March, the day after he was
included in a presidential amnesty decree. Deputy leader of the Muslim
Unity Movement, he was arrested in November 2015 amid a massive security
assault on the village of Nardaran near Baku. He had been serving a 17-year
jail term (see below).
First conscientious objector's Supreme Court appeal fails
Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector Emil Vilayat oglu Mehdiyev (born
12 December 1999) has failed at the Supreme Court in Baku to overturn his
criminal conviction for refusing compulsory military service on grounds of
conscience. On 10 April, Judge Tahir Kazimov of the Court's criminal
division rejected his appeal, according to court records.
After his call-up for military service in December 2017, Mehdiyev
repeatedly told the Conscription Office he could not perform military
service on grounds of conscience and was willing to perform an alternative
civilian service.
However, prosecutors brought a case against Mehdiyev under Criminal Code
Article 321.1. This states: "Evasion without lawful grounds of call-up to
military service or of mobilisation, with the purpose of evading serving in
the military, is punishable by imprisonment for up to two years [in
peacetime]".
On 6 July 2018, Barda District Court convicted Mehdiyev and handed down a
one-year suspended prison term, and required that he live under probation
for one year. 
(
 During
this time, Mehdiyev must report to the authorities each week and remains
under travel restrictions.
Mehdiyev appealed against his conviction, but Ganca Appeal Court rejected
his appeal on 8 October 2018.
(
 The sentence then came
into legal force, meaning that it will expire on 8 October 2019.
Mehdiyev lodged his appeal against his criminal conviction to the Supreme
Court on 10 December 2018.
Second conscientious objector's Supreme Court appeal fails
Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector Vahid Gunduz oglu Abilov (born 2
May 1999) has failed at the Supreme Court in Baku to overturn his criminal
conviction for refusing compulsory military service on grounds of
conscience. On 24 April, Judge Hafiz Nasibov of the Court's criminal
division rejected his appeal, according to court records.
Abilov refused to serve in the army after his call-up in May 2017. "My
Bible-trained conscience prevents me from taking up military service," he
told Agdam District Conscription Office in writing. "I do not evade, or
even think of evading, the fulfilment of my civic duty. I just kindly ask
you to provide me with alternative civilian service instead of military
service."
Prosecutors brought a criminal case against Abilov on 9 July 2018 under
Criminal Code Article 321.1.
On 6 September 2018, Agdam District Court found Abilov guilty and sentenced
him to a one-year suspended prison term. During this time, Abilov must
report to the authorities each week and remains under travel restrictions.
(
Abilov appealed against his conviction, but Ganca Appeal Court rejected his
appeal on 31 October 2018.
(
 The sentence then came
into legal force, meaning that it will expire on 31 October 2019.
Abilov lodged his appeal against his criminal conviction to the Supreme
Court on 12 January 2019.
"The terms of the restrictions Vahid Abilov must live under during the year
remain very vague," Jehovah's Witnesses complained to Forum 18 in December
2018.
Will Ombudsperson's Office help conscientious objectors?
Ahead of its accession to the Council of Europe in January 2001, Azerbaijan
promised "to adopt, within two years of accession, a law on alternative
service in compliance with European standards and, in the meantime, to
pardon all conscientious objectors presently serving prison terms or
serving in disciplinary battalions, allowing them instead to choose (when
the law on alternative service has come into force) to perform non-armed
military service or alternative Civilian service".
Azerbaijan has never done this, and conscientious objectors to military
service have been repeatedly prosecuted and even jailed under Criminal Code
Article 321.1.
Four conscientious objectors jailed earlier as prisoners of conscience and
another who received a suspended prison term are awaiting decisions from
the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
(
Forum 18 asked the Human Rights Ombudsperson's Office in Baku in writing on
17 December 2018 (resent on ) what action (if any) it had
taken to defend the rights of Mehdiyev and Abilov. It also asked what
action (if any) it had taken to push for the adoption of a law to allow for
those who have conscientious objections to military service to perform a
civilian alternative service, which Azerbaijan committed to introduce by
2003.
Forum 18 had received no reply from the Ombudsperson's Office by the end of
the working day in Baku on 1 May.
Awaiting European Court decision
Jailed Shia Imam Sardar Akif oglu Babayev (born 12 March 1974), punished
for leading Muslim worship having gained his religious education outside
Azerbaijan, is awaiting a decision in his case from the European Court of
Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg, his lawyer Javad Javadov told Forum 18
from Baku on 1 May.
Arrested in February 2017, Imam Babayev was given a three-year prison term
by a court in the southern town of Masalli in July 2017. He is the first
(and so far only) individual known to have been punished for the "crime" of
leading worship in a Muslim community after having gained his religious
education outside Azerbaijan.
Imam Babayev was jailed despite having led prayers at the state-controlled
Caucasian Muslim Board's invitation, but local human rights defenders
suggested that the state saw the popularity of the Imam's sermons among
Muslims as a threat. 
(
Prisoner of conscience Babayev was sentenced under Criminal Code Article
168-1.3.1 ("Violation of the procedure for religious propaganda and
religious ceremonies"), including the conducting of Islamic rites by a
citizen who received their Islamic education abroad, and committing this
"crime" repeatedly carries a penalty of a prison term of between two and
five years.
Babayev's lawyer Javad Javadov lodged the case to the ECtHR (Application
No. 34015/17) on 2 May 2017, after he failed in his challenge through the
local courts to Babayev's February 2017 arrest.
Javadov updated the application to the ECtHR after Masalli District Court
handed down the three-year prison sentence in July 2017. Shirvan Appeal
Court rejected Imam Babayev's appeal in September 2017. The Supreme Court
in Baku rejected Imam Babayev's final appeal against his conviction in
February 2018. 
(
On 4 September 2018, the ECtHR asked the Azerbaijani government whether it
violated Babayev's right to freedom of thought conscience and religion
under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms, as well as the related rights to a fair trial (Article 6),
freedom of expression (Article 10), freedom of assembly and association
(Article 11), and prohibition of discrimination (Article 14).
(
The ECtHR also asked on what grounds Babayev was held for months in
pre-trial detention (Article 5 - "Right to liberty and security") and
whether being held in a metal cage in the courtroom broke the Convention's
prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 3).
(
The Azerbaijani government submitted its response to the ECtHR on 1
February 2019, the deadline the court had given it, court officials told
Forum 18 from Strasbourg. "The government's response was, as usual, not
serious," Javadov told Forum 18. "The communication phase is over and we
are now awaiting a decision. It is not yet known when this will be."
Babayev is currently being held in Prison No. 17 in Bina in eastern Baku.
"He faces no obstacles in praying, and he has a Koran," his lawyer Javadov
told Forum 18 on 1 May. "Conditions are reasonable."
The address of the prison where Babayev is being held:
17 sayli Cazacakma müassisasi
AZ-1045, Baki sahari
Khazar rayonu
Bina qasabasi
Azerbaijan
Last anti hijab ban protester freed
Shia Muslim prisoner of conscience Telman Shirali oglu Shiraliyev (born 13
February 1981) had his prison term reduced by one month and five days and
was freed on 18 February, human rights defenders told Forum 18 from Baku.
The reduction in sentence – by a Baku court – meant he had served the
full four month and 13 day sentence and was freed in the courtroom.
Shiraliyev was among a large group of Muslim men jailed for protesting on
the streets of Baku on 5 October 2012 against a 2010 Education Ministry ban
on girls wearing a headscarf (hijab) in schools. The protest outside the
Education Ministry - the largest of three such street protests - ended in
violence. Independent observers insisted that the violence did not come
from the protestors, but from provocateurs among the crowd possibly
controlled by the police or other security agencies.
(
A Baku court handed Shiraliyev a six-year jail term in April 2013. It was
due to end on 5 October 2018.
However, prosecutors brought new criminal charges against Shiraliyev in
late September 2018, claiming he had kept illegal items in prison,
including a knife under his pillow. Human rights defenders dismissed the
claims.
Prosecutors brought the case against Shiraliyev under Criminal Code Article
317-2.1. This punishes "Preparation, storage, transportation or use of
objects prohibited by a person detained in prisons or in detention
facilities" with imprisonment of up to six months.
At the end of the short trial on 20 December 2018, Baku's Khazar District
Court sentenced Shiraliyev to five months and 18 days' imprisonment.
(
Shiraliyev was the last of the 32 men convicted for participating in the
October 2012 anti hijab ban demonstration to be freed from prison.
Freed under amnesty
Shia Muslim theologian and prisoner of conscience Zulfuqar Sadraddin oglu
Mikayilzade (born 1978, also known as Mikayilov) was freed from Prison No.
8 in Baku's Qaradag District on 17 March, local media noted the same day.
Mikayilzade had been included among a large number of prisoners amnestied
by President Ilham Aliyev in a 16 March decree.
Mikayilzade was deputy leader of the Muslim Unity Movement, launched in
2015 and led by jailed Imam Taleh Bagirov. The authorities quickly began to
try to suppress the new Movement, which has both religious and political
goals and aims to unify the Islamic and secular opposition to the regime of
President Ilham Aliyev.
(
Security forces arrested Mikayilzade on 26 November 2015 during their
assault on the village of Nardaran, north of Baku. The General Prosecutor's
Office accused the Muslim Unity Movement of planning "a violent change to
the constitutional system of government" to establish "a religious state
governed by Sharia law". It claimed that the "armed criminal group"
stockpiled ammunition and explosives. The Muslim Unity Movement denied any
attempt to seize power and denied collecting weapons for this purpose.
Mikayilzade was tried with eleven others in what became known as Nardaran
case No. 3. On 6 December 2017, Baku's Serious Crimes Court sentenced him
on a wide range of criminal charges to 17 years' imprisonment in strict
regime prison. The other eleven received jail terms of between 12 and 15
years.
In April 2018, Baku Appeal Court increased the severity of the prison
conditions of Mikayilzade's sentence from strict to special regime. On 16
November 2018, the Supreme Court rejected Mikayilzade's further appeal,
according to court records. (END)
Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Azerbaijan
(
For more background, see Forum 18's Azerbaijan religious freedom survey
(
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments
(
A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan
(
Twitter @Forum_18
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                                        Tuesday, 
Pashinian Ally Hails Sarkisian Resignation Anniversary
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia -- Armenians celebrate the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh 
Sarkisian, Yerevan, April 23, 2018.
A close associate of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian congratulated Armenians on 
Tuesday on the first anniversary of the dramatic resignation of the country’s 
former leader, Serzh Sarkisian, announced amid mass protests against his 
continued rule.
“I want to congratulate all of us in connection with that event and say that a 
very important event happened in Armenia one year ago,” said Alen Simonian, a 
deputy parliament speaker and senior member of Pashinian’s My Step bloc.
“The people of Armenia once again proved their superior qualities,” Simonian 
told reporters.
Sarkisian stepped down on April 23, 2018 just six days after completing his 
second presidential term in office and becoming Armenia’s prime minister amid 
intensifying street protests organized by Pashinian.
“Nikol Pashinian was right, I was mistaken,” Sarkisian said in a written 
address to the nation.“There are several solutions to the existing situation 
but I will not opt for any of them. They are not to my liking.”
“The movement in the streets is against my tenure. I am fulfilling your 
demand,” he added.
ARMENIA -- A man covered with a national flag waves an opened bottle of a 
sparkling wine celebrating Armenian Prime Minister's Serzh Sarkisian's 
resignation in Republic Square in Yerevan, April 23, 2018
The announcement sparked jubilant scenes in the streets of Yerevan filled with 
hundreds of thousands of people demanding his resignation.
Sarkisian publicly rejected the demands for his resignation as recently as on 
April 22. At a short televised meeting with Pashinian, he accused the 
opposition leader of blackmailing “the legitimate authorities of the state.” “A 
faction that got 7-8 percent of the vote [in the April 2017 parliamentary 
elections] cannot speak on behalf of the people,” he said, referring to the 
opposition Yelk bloc, of which Pashinian was a leader.
Pashinian was detained more than an hour after that meeting while holding a 
fresh demonstration in Yerevan. The arrest only added to popular anger, with 
tens of thousands of people flocking to Republic Square later on April 22.
The protests resumed in Yerevan and other Armenian cities the following 
morning. Pashinian was set free in the afternoon, shortly before the 
announcement of Sarkisian’s resignation.
The then Armenian parliament controlled by Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) 
reluctantly elected Pashinian prime minister on May 8 under relentless pressure 
from huge crowds demonstrating across the country.
Pashinian’s protest movement was also backed by other major political forces, 
notably Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK). The BHK joined his 
first cabinet formed later in May. It is now in opposition to the government.
ARMENIA -- Opposition demonstrators gathered on the Republic Square celebrating 
Armenian Prime Minister's Serzh Sarkisian's resignation in Yerevan, April 23, 
2018
A senior BHK figure, Gevorg Petrosian, claimed on Tuesday that the “velvet 
revolution” has not lived up to the people’s expectations yet. “The people did 
the revolution in hopes that there will be a tangible, positive improvement in 
their lives in the very near future,” he said. “In the economic sense we don’t 
have tangible growth right now.”
Simonian disagreed, saying that Pashinian’s government is consistently 
improving the economic situation in Armenia with sweeping reforms. “This is an 
ongoing process which will continue unabated,” he said. “Everything will be 
done so that Armenia’s citizens feel the difference on their skin, in their 
family budgets.”
Earlier this month the current parliament controlled by My Step approved a 
government proposal to designate the last Saturday of April as a public holiday 
called Citizen’s Day. Pashinian insisted in March that the new holiday will be 
dedicated to “the victory of the people and democracy,” rather than his rise to 
power.
Russian Military Said To Deploy More Advanced Jets In Armenia
        • Emil Danielyan
Singapore -- A Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jet from the Royal Malaysian Air Force 
performs a slow fly past during the Singapore Airshow at Changi exhibition 
center in Singapore, February 16, 2016
Russia will replace its 18 MiG-29 fighter jets stationed in Armenia with more 
sophisticated and powerful aircraft, it was reported on Tuesday
Citing an unnamed official in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, the TASS news 
agency said the Russian military will start deploying Sukhoi Su-30SM jets to 
the Erebuni airbase in Yerevan next year.
“The delivery of the aircraft will be carried out in two phases: in 2020 and 
2021,” the said the unnamed source. “It is planned that all 18 MiG-29s, which 
are currently flown by pilots of the airbase, will be replaced by Su-30SMs.”
Su-30SM is a modernized version of a heavy fighter jet developed by the Sukhoi 
company in the late 1980s. The Russian military received the first batch of 
such aircraft in 2012. It can carry much heavier and more wide-ranging rockets 
and has more advanced electronic equipment than MiG-29, which was designed in 
the 1970s.
Armenia - A Russian MiG-29 fighter jet prepares for takeoff at the Erebuni air 
base in Yerevan, 12Mar2016.
The Russian ambassador to Armenia, Sergey Kopyrkin, did not deny or confirm the 
TASS report when he spoke to journalists later on Tuesday. “I am not prepared 
to talk about this subject in detail,” Kopyrkin said, according to the Sputnik 
news agency.
For its part, Armenia’s Defense Ministry declined to comment on the possible 
deployment of Su-30SM aircraft, saying that Moscow has made no official 
statements to that effect.
An Armenian government source told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that Yerevan would 
welcome such a deployment because Su-30SM is more modern than the aging MiG-29s 
that are part of the Russian military base in Armenia. The MiG-29s were 
modernized by the Russian Air Force several years ago.
The Russia base headquartered in Gyumri is in turn part of Russia’s Southern 
Military District. The district commander, Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov, 
met with the visiting chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff, 
Lieutenant-General Artak Davtian, on April 19.
Russia -- Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov (L), commander of Russia's 
Southern Military District, meets with Lieutenant-General Artak Davtian (R), 
the Amrenian army chief of staff, April 19, 2019.
According to the Armenia Defense Ministry, the two generals discussed “joint 
combat readiness activities.” A ministry statement said Dvornikov also praised 
the most recent Russian-Armenian military exercises that were held at a 
training ground 50 kilometers west of Yerevan on April 1-12.
Earlier this year, Moscow and Yerevan signed a contract for the delivery of 
four Sukhoi Su-30SM jets to Armenia. Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan said in 
February that the Armenian military will receive them by the beginning of 2020. 
It plans to buy more such aircraft in the following years, he said.
Financial details of the fighter jet deal remain unknown. Membership in the 
Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) entitles Armenia to 
buying Russian weapons at discounted prices.
Armenian Law-Enforcement Body Reports Sharp Rise In Corruption Probes
Armenia -The Investigative Committee headquarters in Yerevan.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said on Tuesday that the number of state 
officials and other individuals prosecuted by it on corruption charges more 
than doubled last year.
In a detailed statement, the law-enforcement agency, which conducts the vast 
majority of criminal investigations in the country, revealed that it opened 
1,077 corruption-related cases in 2018, up from 403 such cases in 2017. It said 
presumed embezzlement or misuse of public funds accounted for the largest share 
of those inquiries, followed by almost 130 alleged instances of bribery.
The Investigative Committee said 382 individuals working in the central or 
local government bodies, the security apparatus and other public institutions 
were charged with various corrupt practices as a result. It reported a total of 
77 corruption-related arrests of these and other people, compared with 23 
arrests made in 2017.
The committee did not specify whether the bulk of these actions were taken 
after last spring’s mass protests which toppled Armenia’s former government 
accused by its political opponents of not only tolerating but also sponsoring 
corruption.
Public discontent with widespread graft is thought to be one of the reasons for 
the “velvet revolution.” Nikol Pashinian, the revolution leader elected prime 
minister in May, claims to have already eliminated “systemic corruption” in 
Armenia.
The most high-profile corruption probes launched after the revolution have 
targeted relatives and cronies of Serzh Sarkisian, the country’s deposed former 
leader. In particular, one of his two brothers, Levon, was charged with 
“illegal enrichment” after tax inspectors discovered in June 2018 that he and 
his two children hold almost $7 million in undeclared deposits at an Armenian 
bank. Levon Sarkisian, who is known to have worked only in the public sector, 
apparently left Armenia shortly before being indicted.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” comments on the first anniversary of Serzh Sarkisian’s dramatic 
resignation as Armenia’s newly elected prime minister. “He resigned under 
popular pressure,” writes the paper. “Although he said the day before that ‘a 
political force that got 7 percent of the vote has no right to speak on behalf 
of the people’ and hinted at another March 1-style crackdown, he admitted on 
April 23: ‘Nikol Pashinian was right, I was wrong.’ There was a real jubilation 
in Armenia on the day of Serzh Sarkisian’s resignation.” The paper says that 
the greatest achievement of the past year was the conduct of free and fair 
parliamentary elections in December. It also praised the new government’s 
economic policies and record.
“Aravot” says that judging from continuing statements made by senior members of 
Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), they “still do not understand 
and do not even try to understand that they were rejected and are hated to this 
day.” “They think that the revolution which happened one year ago was the 
result of a skillful use of public relations and political ‘color’ techniques,” 
editorializes the paper. “Far from denying that factor, we have to point out 
that it plaid a secondary role. They key thing was the public mood which 
accumulated in the past 20 years.”
“The events of last year must also serve as a lesson for the current 
authorities. Childish jubilation and blind worship are as dangerous as 
courtier’s flattery,” concludes “Aravot.”
“Zhamanak” says Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has trouble making Armenians 
understand what the “economic revolution” promised by him is all about. The 
paper says the main reason for this is that people have traditionally expected 
their government to give them tangible economic benefits, rather than create 
conditions for prosperity. “This is where a dialogue is not taking place,” it 
says, adding that Pashinian and his associates themselves nurtured this “old 
mindset” when they were in opposition to the country’s former governments.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org