I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4264 

To promote United States national security and foreign policy objectives 

through consolidation and strengthening of the rule of law and respect 

for human rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2015 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees 

on the Judiciary and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To promote United States national security and foreign policy objectives through consolidation and strengthening 

of the rule of law and respect for human rights in 

the Republic of Azerbaijan. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Azerbaijan Democracy 

5 Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The United States and the Republic of 

2 Azerbaijan have many areas of mutual interest and 

3 cooperation, but the United States ability to more 

4 fully cooperate with Azerbaijan has been severely 

5 hindered by the Government of Azerbaijan’s gross 

6 violations of human rights and fundamental free7 doms, including violations of basic principles of 

8 democratic governance, standards to which Azer9 baijan has committed itself to adhere as a partici10 pating State in the Organization for Security and 

11 Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other multilat12 eral institutions. 

13 (2) On December 5, 2014, the Government of 

14 Azerbaijan arrested investigative reporter Khadija 

15 Ismayilova, who also was a radio host on Radio 

16 Free/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The charge against 

17 her was ‘‘incitement to suicide’’, and she was held 

18 in pretrial detention and not allowed out on bail. On 

19 December 26, 2014, the Government of Azerbaijan 

20 raided the Baku Office of RFE/RL and closed its 

21 operations. Over the course of a year in pretrial de22 tention, the original charges against Ms. Ismayilova 

23 were dropped after government-called witnesses re24 fused to cooperate with the case. However, Ms. 

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1 ment of Azerbaijan subsequently charged her with 

2 embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, 

3 and abuse of power. She was convicted and is now 

serving a 71 4 ⁄2-year sentence in prison. The RFE/RL 

5 Baku Bureau has not been allowed to reopen. 

6 (3) According to the United States State De7 partment report for 2014, the Government of Azer8 baijan did not respect its own laws on freedom of 

9 speech and press censorship. The report said, ‘‘The 

10 government continued to limit freedom of speech 

11 and media independence. Journalists faced intimida12 tion and at times were beaten and imprisoned.’’. 

13 (4) The Committee to Protect Journalists stat14 ed that Azerbaijan is the leading jailer of journalists 

15 in Europe and Central Asia, and is the fifth most 

16 censored country in the world. 

17 (5) As an OSCE participating State, the Gov18 ernment of Azerbaijan has committed itself to work 

19 toward a standard of free and fair elections. Since 

20 its independence in 1992, no election held in Azer21 baijan has met the minimum requirements as out22 lined by the OSCE. Elections for President and for 

23 the Parliament have shown a pattern of disregard 

24 for the conduct of democratic elections and have 

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1 regard for the basic rights of freedom of assembly, 

2 association, and expression. The conduct of the elec3 tions demonstrates the unwillingness of authorities 

4 in Azerbaijan to tolerate political competition. 

5 (6) According to the United States Department 

6 of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Prac7 tices for 2014, Azerbaijan has used ‘‘. . . the judi8 cial system to punish peaceful dissent—including in9 creased reports of arbitrary arrest and detention, po10 litically motivated imprisonment, lack of due process, 

11 and lengthy pretrial detention—by secular and reli12 gious individuals perceived as a threat by govern13 ment officials, while crimes against such individuals 

14 or their family members went unpunished.’’. 

15 (7) According to the 2015 report on religious 

16 freedom by the United States Commission on Inter17 national Religious Freedom (USCIRF), ‘‘Despite so18 cietal religious tolerance in Azerbaijan, governmental 

19 respect for religious freedom continued to deteriorate 

20 in 2014.’’. The report details the Government’s use 

21 of the 2009 religion law ‘‘to limit religious freedom 

22 and to justify fines, police raids, detentions, and im23 prisonment.’’. There are 44 names on the list of reli24 gious prisoners published by USCIRF. 


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1 (8) USCIRF cited poor conditions for religious 

2 minorities in Azerbaijan, reporting that ‘‘most 

3 Protestant denominations do not have legal status, 

4 including Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and 

5 Pentecostals, as well as Jehovah’s Witnesses.’’. 

6 (9) The Government of Azerbaijan has further 

7 attempted to silence dissent through retribution 

8 against the political opposition, journalists, inde9 pendent NGOs, and their family members, through 

10 physical threats and beatings, dismissal from em11 ployment, travel restrictions and other forms of in12 timidation. 

13 (10) Those jailed opposition candidates and ac14 tivists have been treated harshly in pretrial deten15 tion and in prison, including physical beatings, de16 nied access to family, defense counsel, medical treat17 ment, and open legal proceedings. 

18 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

19 It is the policy of the United States— 

20 (1) to secure United States national security 

21 and economic interests in the region through pro22 motion of a stable and democratic government in 

23 Azerbaijan; 

24 (2) to call for the immediate release without 

25 preconditions of all political prisoners in Azerbaijan; 


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1 (3) to support the aspirations of the people of 

2 Azerbaijan for democracy, internationally recognized 

3 human rights, and the rule of law; 

4 (4) to support the growth of the rule of law and 

5 democratic institutions in Azerbaijan; 

6 (5) to work closely with other countries and 

7 international organizations, including the OSCE, to 

8 bring Azerbaijan in compliance with its multilateral 

9 commitments; and 

10 (6) reassess United States policy toward the 

11 Government of Azerbaijan reevaluating United 

12 States policy toward Azerbaijan as warranted by de13 monstrable progress made by the Government of 

14 Azerbaijan consistent with the policy of the United 

15 States as stated in this section. 

16 SEC. 4. DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES OF 

17 SENIOR LEADERSHIP OF THE GOVERNMENT 

18 OF AZERBAIJAN AND OTHERS. 

19 (a) DENIAL OF ENTRY.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, the Secretary of State may not issue any 

21 visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny 

22 entry to the United States of, any alien described in sub23 section (c). 

24 (b) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—Notwithstanding 

25 any other provision of law, the Secretary of State shall 


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1 revoke, in accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigra2 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), the visa or 

3 other documentation of any alien who would be ineligible 

4 to receive such a visa or documentation under subsection 

5 (a). 

6 (c) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien described in this 

7 subsection is any alien who— 

8 (1) holds a position in the senior leadership of 

9 the Government of Azerbaijan; 

10 (2) is an immediate family member of a person 

11 described in paragraph (1); 

12 (3) through his or her business dealings with 

13 senior leadership of the Government of Azerbaijan 

14 derives significant financial benefit from policies or 

15 actions, including electoral fraud, human rights 

16 abuses, or corruption, that undermine or injure 

17 democratic institutions or impede the transition to 

18 democracy in Azerbaijan; and 

19 (4) is a member of any branch of the security, 

20 judicial, or law enforcement services of Azerbaijan 

21 and has participated in the persecution or harass22 ment of independent media or journalists, human 

23 rights defenders, opposition groups, or religious 

24 groups. 


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1 (d) EXCEPTION.—The requirements under sub2 sections (a) and (b) shall not apply with respect to an alien 

3 who is an official of the Government of Azerbaijan and 

4 who is seeking entry into the United States for the pur5 pose of participation in talks related to resolution of the 

6 Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the 

7 OSCE Minsk Group. 

8 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SANCTIONS AGAINST THE 

9 GOVERNMENT OF AZERBAIJAN AND SENIOR 

10 LEADERSHIP OF THE GOVERNMENT OF AZER11 BAIJAN AND OTHERS. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION ON LOANS AND INVESTMENT.— 

13 (1) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FINANC14 ING.—It is the sense of Congress that no loan, credit 

15 guarantee, insurance, financing, or other similar fi16 nancial assistance be extended by any agency of the 

17 Government of the United States (including the Ex18 port-Import Bank of the United States and the 

19 Overseas Private Investment Corporation) to the 

20 Government of Azerbaijan, except with respect to 

21 the provision of humanitarian goods and agricultural 

22 or medical products. 

23 (2) TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.—It is 

24 the sense of Congress that no funds available to the 


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1 Trade and Development Agency should be available 

2 for activities of the Agency in or for Azerbaijan. 

3 (b) MULTILATERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

4 Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the United 

5 States Executive Director at each international financial 

6 institution of which the United States is a member to use 

7 the voice and vote of the United States to oppose any ex8 tension by those institutions of any financial assistance 

9 (including any technical assistance or grant) of any kind 

10 to the Government of Azerbaijan, except for loans and as11 sistance that serve humanitarian needs. 

12 (c) BLOCKING OF ASSETS AND OTHER PROHIBITED

13 ACTIVITIES.— 

14 (1) BLOCKING OF ASSETS.—It is the sense of 

15 Congress that the President should block all prop16 erty and interests in property, including all commer17 cial, industrial, or public utility undertakings or enti18 ties, that, on or after the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act— 

20 (A) are owned, in whole or in part, by any 

21 member of the senior leadership of the Govern22 ment of Azerbaijan, or by any member or fam23 ily member closely linked to any member of the 

24 senior leadership of the Government of Azer25 baijan, or any person who through his or her 


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1 business dealings with the senior leadership of 

2 the Government of Azerbaijan derives signifi3 cant financial benefit from policies or actions, 

4 including electoral fraud, human rights abuses, 

5 or corruption, that undermine or injure demo6 cratic institutions or impede the transition to 

7 democracy in Azerbaijan; and 

8 (B) are in the United States, that here9 after come within the United States, or that are 

10 or hereafter come within the possession or con11 trol of any United States person. 

12 (2) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—Activities pro13 hibited by reason of the blocking of property and in14 terests in property under paragraph (1) should in15 clude payments or transfers of any property, or any 

16 transactions involving the transfer of anything of 

17 economic value by any United States person to any 

18 person described in subparagraph (A) of such para19 graph. 

20 (3) PAYMENT OF EXPENSES.—All expenses in21 cident to the blocking and maintenance of property 

22 blocked under paragraph (1) should be charged to 

23 the owners or operators of such property. Such ex24 penses may not be paid from blocked funds. 


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1 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

2 subsection should be construed to prohibit any con3 tract or other financial transaction with any private 

4 or nongovernmental organization or business in 

5 Azerbaijan. 

6 (5) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 

7 should not apply with respect to the provision of 

8 medicine, medical equipment or supplies, food, as 

9 well as any other form of humanitarian assistance 

10 provided to Azerbaijan as relief in response to a hu11 manitarian crisis. 

12 (6) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates any 

13 prohibition or restriction imposed under this sub14 section should be subject to the penalties under sec15 tion 206 of the International Emergency Economic 

16 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as 

17 for a violation under that Act. 

18 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS. 

19 The sanctions described in section 4 shall apply with 

20 respect to an alien described in that section, and the sanc21 tions described in section 5 should apply with respect to 

22 the Government of Azerbaijan, the senior leadership of the 

23 Government of Azerbaijan, and any other person described 

24 in section 5, until the President determines and certifies 

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1 ernment of Azerbaijan has made significant progress in 

2 meeting the following conditions: 

3 (1) The release of individuals in Azerbaijan who 

4 have been jailed based on political or religious beliefs 

5 or expression. 

6 (2) The cessation of all forms of harassment 

7 and repression against the independent media, non8 governmental organizations, youth groups, religious 

9 organizations (including their leadership and mem10 bers), and the political opposition in Azerbaijan. 

11 (3) Progress toward free, fair and transparent 

12 elections and the rule of law consistent with OSCE 

13 commitments. 

14 SEC. 7. MULTILATERAL COOPERATION. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

16 continue to seek the support of other countries, particu17 larly European countries, for a comprehensive, multilat18 eral strategy to further the purposes of this Act, including, 

19 as appropriate, encouraging other countries to take meas20 ures with respect to the Republic of Azerbaijan that are 

21 similar to measures described in this Act. 

22 SEC. 8. REPORT. 

23 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

25 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 


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1 committees a report that describes, with respect to the 

2 preceding 12-month period and to the extent practicable, 

3 the following: 

4 (1) The cooperation of the Government of Azer5 baijan with any foreign government or organization 

6 for purposes related to the censorship or surveillance 

7 of the Internet, or the purchase or receipt by the 

8 Government of Azerbaijan of any technology or 

9 training from any foreign government or organiza10 tion for purposes related to the censorship or sur11 veillance of the Internet. 

12 (2) The personal assets and wealth of President 

13 Ilham Aliyev and other senior leadership of the Gov14 ernment of Azerbaijan. 

15 (b) FORM.—A report transmitted pursuant to sub16 section (a) shall be in unclassified form but may contain 

17 a classified annex. 

18 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com22 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

23 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

24 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 


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1 (2) SENIOR LEADERSHIP OF THE GOVERNMENT

2 OF AZERBAIJAN.—The term ‘‘senior leadership of 

3 the Government of Azerbaijan’’ includes— 

4 (A) the President, Prime Minister, Deputy 

5 Prime Ministers, government ministers, Chair6 men of State Committees, governors, heads of 

7 state enterprises, and members of the Presi8 dential Administration of Azerbaijan; 

9 (B) any official of the Government of Azer10 baijan who— 

11 (i) is personally and substantially in12 volved in the suppression of freedom in 

13 Azerbaijan, including judges, prosecutors, 

14 and heads of professional associations and 

15 educational institutions; or 

16 (ii) is otherwise engaged in public cor17 ruption in Azerbaijan; and 

18 (C) any other individual determined by the 

19 Secretary of State (or the Secretary’s designee) 

20 to be personally and substantially involved in 

21 the formulation or execution of the policies of 

22 the Government of Azerbaijan that are in con23 tradiction of internationally recognized human 

24 rights standards. 

Æ 


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