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HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN

AZERBAIJAN

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND 

COOPERATION IN EUROPE

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JULY 29, 2008

Printed for the use of the

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

[CSCE 110–2–19]

(

Available via http://www.csce.gov 

COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS

HOUSE SENATE

ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida,

Chairman 

LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER,

New York 

MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina 

HILDA L. SOLIS, California 

G.K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama 

JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland,

Co-Chairman 

RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin 

CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut 

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York 

JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts 

SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas 

GORDON SMITH, Oregon 

SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia 

RICHARD BURR, North Carolina

EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS

DAVID J. KRAMER, Department of State 

MARY BETH LONG, Department of Defense 

DAVID BOHIGIAN, Department of Commerce 

(II) 

HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN 

AZERBAIJAN 

JULY 29, 2008

COMMISSIONERS 

Page 

Hon. Alcee L. Hastings, Chairman, Commission on Security 

and Cooperation in Europe ..................................................... 1

Hon. Saxby Chambliss, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe .............................................. 6

Hon. G.K. Butterfield, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe .............................................. 8

Hon. Hilda L. Solis, Commissioner, Commission on Security 

and Cooperation in Europe ..................................................... 9

Hon. Richard Burr, Commissioner, Commission on Security 

and Cooperation in Europe ..................................................... 10

Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Co-Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe .......................................... 11

WITNESSES 

Hon. David J. Kramer, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor ....................................... 3

H.E. Yashar Aliyev, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States ..................................................... 17

Christopher Walker, Director of Studies, Freedom House ...... 29

APPENDICES 

Prepared statement of Hon. Alcee L. Hastings ........................ 36

Prepared statement of Hon. Saxby Chambliss ......................... 38

Prepared statement of Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter, (R–11) 

a Member of Congress from the State of Michigan .............. 47

Prepared statement of Hon. David J. Kramer .......................... 55

Prepared statement of H.E. Yashar Aliyev ............................... 60

Prepared statement of Christopher Walker .............................. 66

(III) 

(1)

HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN 

AZERBAIJAN 

July 29, 2008

COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

WASHINGTON, DC

The hearing was held at 3 p.m. in room B–318, Rayburn House 

Office Building, Washington, DC, Hon. Alcee L. Hastings, Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, presiding. 

Commissioners present: Hon. Alcee L. Hastings, Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Hon. Saxby 

Chambliss, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Hon. G.K. Butterfield, Commissioner, Commission 

on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Hon. Hilda L. Solis, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; 

Hon. Richard Burr, Commissioner, Commission on Security and 

Cooperation in Europe; and Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Co-Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. 

Witnesses present: Hon. David J. Kramer, Assistant Secretary of 

State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; H.E. Yashar 

Aliyev, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United 

States; and Christopher Walker, Director of Studies, Freedom 

House. 

HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Mr. HASTINGS. We can get started. 

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here, and welcome 

to our first hearing on Azerbaijan since May 2000. Earlier this 

year, we held hearings after elections in Georgia and Armenia, 

where violence either preceded or followed the vote. We are not 

waiting until after Azerbaijan’s Presidential election in October because Congress will probably go out of session for the year in September. Rather than wait until 2009, I decided to proceed at this 

juncture. 

I would also like to point out, though I hardly think it is necessary, that the Helsinki Commission does not only scrutinize foreign countries. We also examine U.S. compliance. During this Congress, we have held two hearings on the status and treatment of 

detainees at Guantanamo, which took a very critical look at U.S. 

observance of human rights standards. Just last week, we held a 

briefing on the medical evidence of torture by United States personnel. 

2

One more thing, we do not intend today to focus on NagornoKarabakh. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried recently testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the so-called 

frozen conflicts. And at our hearing on Armenia, NagornoKarabakh received considerable attention from Deputy Assistant 

Secretary Matthew Bryza, who is directly charged with negotiating 

an end to that dispute. 

To turn now to the subject of our hearing—human rights and democratization in Azerbaijan—let me say, having been there several 

times, that I appreciate very much the importance of Baku’s strategic relationship with the United States. Azerbaijan has cooperated closely with the United States on anti-terrorism matters. As 

a producer of oil and gas which is transported to Western markets 

through Georgia, Azerbaijan plays a pivotal role in diversifying 

sources of energy. 

Still, there are serious human rights concerns in Azerbaijan. 

These have been laid out in the annual reports by the State Department and Freedom House. The Council of Europe, which Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia all joined in 2002, also issues regular 

reports on all three countries, focusing on human rights problems, 

and I commend them to your attention. 

Of particular concern is the situation of journalists. In December, 

2007, Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE’s representative on Freedom of 

the Media, said more journalists were imprisoned in Azerbaijan 

than in any other OSCE member state. Later that month, President Aliev amnestied five journalists. Still, three remain in jail, or 

four, depending on whom you ask. 

The jailed journalists bring us to the issue of political prisoners. 

I introduced a resolution a year ago which focused on the case of 

Farhad Aliyev and the repression of journalists. While even Azerbaijani human rights groups disagree about who should be considered a political prisoner and how many there are, they do maintain 

there are people in jail for their political beliefs or activity. The 

Council of Europe has been wrestling with this problem for years 

and we intend to question our witnesses about it as well. 

Finally, an important Presidential contest is coming up in October. I have a special interest in that topic, having headed the 

OSCE’s International Observation Mission for Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections in 2005. The OSCE’s Warsaw-based Office of 

Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has issued a pre-election report on conditions in Azerbaijan. I understand that Baku 

has not accepted several recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. I hope that decision will be reconsidered 

and that Azerbaijan’s October election will register clear progress 

over 2005. 

Humor doesn’t go over very well in these hearings, but to give 

my friends from Azerbaijan some comfort, I am on the ballot in August and in December in Florida. Just like I wish for Azerbaijan 

that they have clear progress in their elections, I doggone sure 

hope we have clear progress in ours, especially in Palm Beach and 

Broward County, where in 2000 everybody in the world knows 

what transpired. So I am an equal opportunity concerned person. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on this and the 

other issues under discussion today. 

3

Before inviting our first witness to begin his testimony, I would 

like to say, ladies and gentlemen, the biographies which are distinguished, are outside at our table, and any other paraphernalia offered by either or all sides is available at the table. So I will not 

go into great detail regarding the personal curriculum vitae of our 

witnesses. 

But I would, however, in this instance, invite the Honorable 

David Kramer, who in addition to his duties as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and he 

took that post on March 21, 2008. And then from 2005 to 2008, he 

was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, responsible for Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and 

Belarus affairs, as well as regional nonproliferation issues. 

Previously, he served in the Department of State, Office of Policy 

Planning, as a professional staff member, and before that was Senior Adviser to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs. Secretary Kramer is also a Commissioner of this organization’s structure, and has informed me that he has matters that he must attend, and therefore will not sit as a Commissioner today. 

But I welcome your testimony, and Commissioner, Secretary, all 

those wonderful things, you may proceed. 

HON. DAVID J. KRAMER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE 

FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR 

Sec. KRAMER. Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Thank 

you for inviting me here today to speak before the Commission, and 

my thanks to other members of the Commission. 

I also want to thank the opportunity to appear with Ambassador 

Aliyev from Azerbaijan, too. It is always an honor and a privilege 

to appear on the same hearing with him. 

Mr. Chairman, if I may, I would ask that my full statement be 

entered into the hearing record. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Without objection. 

Sec. KRAMER. Thank you. 

Mr. Chairman, today’s hearing follows a trip I took to the three 

countries in the South Caucasus in the end of June, so if you will 

permit me, I would also like to say a few words about Armenia and 

Georgia before turning to the subject of today’s hearing, Azerbaijan. 

The United States works with the Organization for Security and 

Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, and the Council of 

Europe to promote democracy, the rule of law, and respect for 

human rights in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. We will continue to closely consult with our European partners on ways to encourage all three South Caucasus countries to take more vigorous 

steps to improve democratic governance and respect for human 

rights. 

While in Armenia, I met with senior officials and with opposition 

and civil society activists, including some of the wives of those detained in connection with the post-Presidential election demonstration in early March. While there, I urged the authorities to release 

all those detained for engaging in opposition activities or for expressing their political views, to conduct a credible independent investigation into the March 1–2 violence that left 10 people dead, to 

4

fully restore freedoms of assembly and media, and to initiate a constructive dialogue with the opposition in civil society. 

In Georgia, there, too, I met with senior officials as well as opposition and civil society activists. I expressed concern about the lack 

of checks and balances among the branches of the government and 

urged the authorities to support democratic institutions, including 

a strong multi-party parliament and a fully independent judiciary. 

I urged the Government of Georgia to work with the opposition 

to foster a culture of respect for political pluralism. In various 

meetings, I expressed concerns about negative trends since last 

year regarding media freedom, and stressed the need to accelerate 

prison reform. 

Mr. Chairman, turning to the focus of today’s hearing, the 

United States has major interests in Azerbaijan in three equally 

important areas: democratic and economic reform, energy diversification, and security cooperation. Our two countries enjoy strong 

cooperation on energy diversification, with Azerbaijan emerging as 

a potentially crucial supplier of diversified natural gas supplies for 

our European allies. 

On security, Azerbaijan has made true contributions to international efforts in Iraq and Kosovo, and provides an air corridor 

that supports U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan. That 

said, our strongest relationships worldwide are with democracies 

that respect the full range of human rights of its citizens, in addition to sharing interests with us. 

We seek to bring our cooperation on democratization with Azerbaijan up to the level of our security and energy collaboration. 

Azerbaijan’s progress on democratic reform is key not only to 

strengthening our bilateral relationship, but also to Azerbaijan’s 

own long-term stability. 

I traveled to Azerbaijan to continue the high level results-oriented dialogue that my predecessor, Assistant Secretary Barry 

Lowenkron and President Aliyev initiated in December, 2006, following President Aliyev’s visit to Washington that year. It was during that visit in April 2006 that President Aliyev stated, ‘‘We are 

grateful for the United States’ assistance in promotion of the political process, the process of democratization of our society and are 

very committed to continuing this cooperation in the future.’’ It was 

with President Aliyev’s stated commitment in mind that I pursued 

these discussions in Baku. 

Now, in addition to my discussions with President Aliyev, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov and other officials, I also met with opposition and civil society figures and independent journalists. We 

have some serious concerns about the state of democracy and the 

protection of human rights in Azerbaijan, which in some areas has 

deteriorated. I was able to discuss these concerns in a candid, but 

friendly and constructive manner with senior officials. 

I addressed five key areas: political processes, media freedom, 

protection of human rights, rule of law, and an empowered civil society. In my meetings with Azerbaijani officials, we discussed concrete steps that can be taken to accelerate democratic reform. 

Let me highlight our concerns regarding the election and media 

freedom, and conclude with a few final thoughts. 

5

Mr. Chairman, as I stressed to senior Azerbaijani officials, the 

October Presidential election presents an important opportunity for 

the government to demonstrate its commitment to democratic reform by ensuring that the overall electoral process and election day 

itself are observed by credible independent election monitors, both 

international and domestic. The pre-election environment is as important, if not more important, than the conduct of election day 

itself. 

The pre-election environment must be conducive with regard to 

freedom to organize political parties, election campaigns, or interest groups; conducive for freedom of the media, assembly and association; voter registration; appointments to election commissions; 

and election grievance processes. The political space for dissenting 

voices has been shrinking in Azerbaijan over the past few years. 

While some in the government have argued that the opposition’s 

weakness is due to a lack of new faces and ideas, the government 

also bears ultimate responsibility for the election’s climate. 

In a welcoming environment, new people will have confidence 

that they can safely engage in politics and the open exchange of 

ideas. I urge the authorities to establish the conditions that would 

be conducive to a truly competitive election. A key factor in determining the credibility of the entire elections process and for establishing broad confidence in the legitimacy of the outcome is domestic and international election monitoring. This spring, Azerbaijani 

courts deregistered and annulled Azerbaijan’s largest independent 

domestic election monitoring NGO, the Election Monitoring Center 

known as EMC. While there, I strongly urged the government to 

restore EMC’s ability to function in time for meaningful independent election observation this October. 

The OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 

should soon receive an invitation to monitor the election. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has announced its 

intention to send short-term observers. We also hope that the European network of election monitoring organizations can also observe 

the election. We hope to see the implementation of election-related 

laws in a way that expands, rather than constricts, the scope of 

citizens to exercise their rights. 

A growing concern in recent years is the deterioration of media 

freedom in Azerbaijan. Administrative and other obstacles make it 

extremely difficult for the public to have access to a variety of 

views. Although seven journalists were released in 2007, which we 

welcomed, three remain in prison for reasons that appear politically motivated. Another journalist is in prison despite severe due 

process violations. In addition, the government has yet to seriously 

investigate numerous cases of violence against journalists. 

There has been no accountability for the 2005 murder of Elmar 

Huseynov. I urged senior officials to release the remaining jailed 

journalists and ensure rigorous and transparent investigations of 

acts of violence against journalists such as Agil Khalil and media 

monitor Emin Huseynov. I also urged senior officials to publicly 

condemn in the strongest terms possible violence against and intimidation and harassment of journalists. The decriminalization of 

libel would also be a strong signal that the government respects 

open debate. I was pleased to learn that since my visit, in fact last 

6

week, the government has decided to allow Mr. Khalil to travel and 

he is now in France. 

I also made it clear that the unresolved conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which you referred to 

earlier, Mr. Chairman, in your statement, is not a valid reason for 

either country to avoid respecting media freedom or engaging in 

other essential components of democratization. 

Additional human rights concerns include the following: political 

prisoners. Local human rights NGOs estimate that the government 

holds between 33 and 57 political prisoners. The release earlier this 

year of two individuals considered by human rights monitors to be 

political prisoners was a positive step. We support the Council of 

Europe’s efforts to resolve this problem. Institutional reform of the 

justice system would also help. 

Abuses by security forces—torture, and the lack of accountability 

for it and the excessive of force against peaceful demonstrators or 

detainees remain serious problems. In the year of rule of law and 

corruption, promoting the rule of law, including an independent judiciary that respects due process remains among our highest diplomatic objectives for Azerbaijan and neighboring countries in the region. 

In closing, Mr. Chairman, I had frank and very constructive 

meetings with President Aliyev, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov 

and other Azerbaijani officials. The United States approaches this 

dialogue as a friend of Azerbaijan. Friendship means not being indifferent to the circumstances of a friend. At the same time, being 

able to discuss matters of disagreement in a proper, yet candid, 

way is part of the nature of a serious dialogue. And concrete results, in terms of improved respect for human rights, clearly will 

serve to deepen our bilateral relationship—something we very 

much want. 

I look forward to working with our friends in Azerbaijan, both in 

and out of government, to help them implement the kinds of democracy and human rights reforms that the citizens of Azerbaijan 

seek. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much, Secretary Kramer. 

We have been joined by several of my colleagues. In the order 

that they came, I will allow among other things any remarks that 

they wish to make at this time. And then we will go to questioning, 

but at this time, I would give the floor to my friend and former colleague in the House of Representatives, who went to the other body 

on us, Saxby Chambliss, who is also a Commissioner of the CSCE. 

HON. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Chairman Hastings, thank you for that gracious 

welcome back over here. It is good to come back and get my blood 

checked every now and then on the House side. I miss you guys. 

Mr. Chairman and fellow Commissioners, I am pleased to participate in this important hearing today. I thank Chairman Hastings, 

as well as my colleague Ben Cardin, for calling this hearing together. 

7

As a Senate Commissioner, and as a Member of the Senate Committees on Intelligence and Armed Services, I know how important 

this part of the world is to our strategic interests and to the region. 

We value Azerbaijan’s participation in the war on terror and on energy security and transportation. 

But I also know the world will be watching this October when 

Azerbaijan holds its Presidential elections. Because Azerbaijan is a 

signatory to all the major international human rights agreements, 

including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 

and the Council of Europe, this election is an opportunity for the 

government to show the rest of the world that it can live up to 

those commitments. 

I am very appreciative, Mr. Secretary, of your comments relative 

to your anticipation there. 

The Helsinki Commission performs a valuable function in monitoring fundamental freedoms such as democracy and the rule of 

law, free and fair elections, and the protection of human rights. 

The documents declare that commitments undertaken in this 

human dimension are a direct and legitimate concern to all Participating states. I am concerned there appears to be a number of 

human rights issues identified by the U.S. Government, the Council of Europe and NGOs. 

According to the State Department, this has involved repression 

of independent journalists, the arbitrary arrest and detention of political opponents, and lengthy pre-trial detention. One case in particular is that of former minister of economic development, Farhad 

Aliyev, and his brother Rafiq, the former president of AZ Petro (ph) 

Oil Company. They were arrested during the parliamentary election campaign in October, 2005—Farhad on charges of plotting a 

coup d’etat. After being held in pre-trial detention for 18 months, 

they were tried and convicted of unrelated economic crimes. 

Observers noted that the 5-month trial was marked by irregularities and lack of due process. I understand the state-owned oil company took control of AZ Petro (ph) the day after the brothers were 

arrested. During the trial, Minister Aliyev (ph) told the court on 

May 15, 2007 that the coup charges were just a pretext and that 

the government came up with certain bizarre demands, including 

an admission that he intended to carry out the Orange Revolution, 

incited by the U.S., British, and German Governments. He also 

stated that they requested $100 million for him to be released. 

The text of the two court statements—and I ask unanimous consent that the text of those two court statements be included in the 

hearing record. I will hand them to you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Without objection. 

Mr. CHAMBLISS. The State Department Human Rights Report for 

2007 had this to say: ‘‘Some considered the 2005 arrests of individuals on charges of plotting a coup and subsequently corruption to 

be politically motivated.’’ I understand that the Aliyevs were held 

in isolation without meeting or talking to his family for 2 years, although this just recently changed. 

Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge that Azerbaijan resolve this and 

other political prisoner cases as soon as possible. Thank you. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you, Senator. 

We have also been joined by our Commissioner G.K. Butterfield. 

8

And Senator Burr, I am glad to see you. We are taking folk in 

the order that they come, if you don’t mind. 

At this time, Commissioner Butterfield from North Carolina, I 

would appreciate it if you have any opening comments. 

HON. G.K. BUTTERFIELD, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for convening this very important hearing. I am especially proud to be 

here with three U.S. Senators and two other colleagues from the 

House of Representatives. So this is an historic occasion, to say the 

least. 

But good to see you again, David. Thank you very much for coming forth to share with us your thoughts on this very important 

subject. 

With one of the world’s fastest growing economies and a deep reserve of energy, Azerbaijan plays an increasingly important role in 

the international community. This country gained independence 

from the old Soviet Union in 1991 and it has successfully maintained good relations with the U.S. and Russia and maintains close 

ties with its neighbor to the south, Iran. 

Azerbaijan’s economy saw the highest GDP growth rate in the 

world last year on the strength of export of its plentiful gas and 

oil resources. With the growing need for energy around the globe, 

it is likely that the economy will continue to grow. The growing 

need for critical energy resources also is sure to increase international interest, focusing attention on Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijan also plans to begin buildings its first nuclear reactor 

next year. As a pivotal player of growing importance on the international stage, it is crucial that Azerbaijan continues to make 

progress toward democratization and the guarantee of human 

rights. During the question and answer session in just a few minutes, I hope to raise some questions that must be asked. I think 

Senator Chambliss laid the groundwork for it just moments ago. 

Currently, Azerbaijan remains one of the most strictly run of the 

post-Soviet states where political opposition is dealt with firmly. 

While elections have been held, they have been deemed deeply 

flawed by the international community. There is also great concern 

about the pervasive corruption, the disruption of wealth, political 

prisoners, freedom of the press, and the considerable buildup of 

armed forces. 

So Mr. Chairman, I look forward to today’s hearing in the hope 

that it will provide some answers about how our country and the 

OSCE and Azerbaijan can together cooperate to overcome these 

challenges. 

Again, I thank the witnesses and all who will participate today. 

I yield back. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you, Congressman-Commissioner. 

The next person to speak I am sure all of us that are mindful 

of ongoing concerns in her congressional area, an earthquake occurred earlier this morning in Los Angeles. I am told that the magnitude of it was 5.8. That is what I just saw about 10 minutes before coming here. But anyway, I am sure her office is reaching out, 

9

and our best wishes for everyone in your congressional district, 

Congresswoman-Commissioner Hilda Solis. 

HON. HILDA L. SOLIS, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Ms. SOLIS. Thank you, Chairman Hastings and Senator Cardin 

for having this hearing this afternoon, and afternoon in Los Angeles. And there was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake, and unfortunately 

one of my offices had to be vacated. It was actually a very long and 

very hard earthquake, one that we haven’t had in quite a few 

years, so we are still assessing what is happening there. I haven’t 

heard about any casualties, so that is good to know right now. 

But we are here on a very important issue and it has to deal 

with Azerbaijan, which we know is one of the fastest growing 

economies in the world and enjoys what I believe and have been 

told good relations with the United States. What we do know is 

that the OSCE and other human rights organizations have expressed concerns to many of us regarding the freedom of the media 

and the conduct of elections in Azerbaijan. In fact, the Human 

Rights Watch has expressed concern about rapidly deteriorating 

media freedoms in Azerbaijan and the imprisonment of nine journalists for defamation and other criminal acts. 

Although President Aliyev pardoned some of the journalists, four 

journalists still remain behind bars. With the upcoming elections in 

October, I think it is very important that the country there strive 

for transparency, especially in its electoral system. And in May 

2008, a decision was made to close the Election Monitoring Center, 

a nonpartisan domestic monitoring organization that worked in 

partnership with the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute, 

which promotes election transparency and fairness worldwide. 

I would ask the question why that was closed, and if there is 

going to be any evidence that there will be a change in that decision. I think that would go a long way today in our discussions. 

I am hopeful also that we can have these various issues that we 

are bringing before you resolved before the October election. I think 

many of us do believe that Azerbaijan has been a great friend of 

the United States strategically. We need to continue to have these 

discussions. And as we have a new incoming presiding coming after 

the fall, I know that it is going to be very imperative for us to continue to have dialogue, cooperation, and first and foremost the ability to work across the sea with our neighbors there. 

So with that, I will yield back and want to hear from our witnesses. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much. 

We have also been joined by Commissioner Richard Burr, another of my former colleagues that went to the U.S. Senate. I am 

telling you, I was good luck for all of these guys. There at least 32 

of them that I have had the good fortune of serving with and good 

relations with them then and now. I miss Richard especially because he and I sort of kid each other an awful lot and traveled together before on other matters. But it is a pleasure to have him 

with us today. 

Senator, anything you wish you add, you may do so at this time. 

10

HON. RICHARD BURR, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Mr. BURR. Well, Mr. Chairman, I thank you not only for this 

hearing, but for the friendship. If the truth be known, I have always been envious of your haircut. That is what draws me to you. 

My colleague from North Carolina, G.K. Butterfield, it is great 

to be with you. 

Mr. Chairman, this hearing about human rights and democratization in Azerbaijan and the OSCE, commitment to promoting democracy and the rule of law is extremely important. I believe it is 

important for us to identify ways in which we can assist the people 

of Azerbaijan at this critical time in their nation’s push toward democracy. 

Let me first say that I recognize and respect the important bilateral and strategic relationship the United States enjoys with Azerbaijan. Cooperation in such areas as energy, the war on terror, 

troop contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan, reaffirms for me the 

deep and trusting relationship the United States has shared with 

Azerbaijan since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. 

It is all the more important because of this relationship for us 

to assist our friends in reaching international democratic standards. As commissioners of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, our role is to monitor those standards and the 

acts of signatories which reflect compliance or violation of the articles of the Helsinki Final Act, particularly issues such as democracy, the rule of law, free and fair elections, and the protection of 

human rights. 

Azerbaijan stands on the precipice. Presidential elections in 1998 

and 2003 were viewed by the OSCE and the international observers as marred by irregularities that resulted in the elections being 

less than free and fair. Parliamentary elections in 2005 suffered 

the same fate and were further compromised by the detention of 

over 300 political activists and candidates. 

It is in light of these past elections that the next Presidential 

election scheduled for October will be viewed. An internationally 

recognized free and fair election will cement Azerbaijan’s place in 

the world, but one filled with irregularities and fraud will result in 

Azerbaijan losing the international respect and recognition it deserves for many years to come. All can agree on the importance of 

the October election. I look forward to reviewing the reports of 

OSCE observers as they report back to the commission their findings this fall. 

But as preparations for these pivotal elections get underway, I 

remain concerned with reports both internationally and U.S. 

sources about political prisoners, in violations of rule of law in 

Azerbaijan. In the State Department’s 2007 Human Rights Report, 

the Government of Azerbaijan is singled out specifically for imprisoning persons for politically motivated reasons. I find these reports 

especially disturbing, given the impact such actions would have on 

the upcoming elections. 

One such case, as was mentioned by my colleague Saxby 

Chambliss, in the report is that Farhad Aliyev and his brother 

Rafiq. As many of you know, Farhad was an active cabinet minister for many years, serving as the Minister of Economic DevelopVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
11

ment at the time of his arrest. His brother was the president of AZ 

Petrol (ph), the largest retail oil company in Azerbaijan. Both were 

arrested at the height of the 2005 October parliamentary elections, 

the last major election campaign held in Azerbaijan. 

Although Farhad was arrested initially for organizing a coup. 

After 18 months of pretrial detention, charges were dropped and he 

was tried and convicted on vague financial crimes in a trial that 

violated most international standards of due process and civil 

rights. The facts surrounding this case are far from clear, but organizations ranging from the Council of Europe to the U.S. State Department have raised serious questions about irregularities with 

the Aliyev brothers’ arrest, detention, trial, and conviction, issues 

which go to the heart of Azerbaijan’s compliance with OSCE norms. 

I hope the testimony we will hear today will shed light on what 

I think is a very serious situation. Since 9/11, the United States 

has provided approximately $500 million of humanitarian, democracy and reform assistance to Azerbaijan, both through the Freedom Support Act and other bilateral assistance. Although the 

amount was decreased recently, aid to Azerbaijan remains an important element of America’s foreign policy in the region. 

However, continued support must be tied to Azerbaijan’s continued progress in moving down the path of democratization and establishing full human rights. I can assure you the case of the 

Aliyev brothers and the success of this October’s election will be 

the test Congress looks a when considering aid in the future. 

Mr. Chairman, we should expect better from OSCE signatory 

countries, and one that wants to be integrated into the international community. 

I look forward to hearing the questions of this panel and the answers of our witnesses today. 

I thank the Chair. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much, Senator Burr. 

Also, we are joined by my Co-Chairman and good friend, and another person that left the House of Representatives to go to the 

other body. Obviously, that is a good place to go to from here, but 

they do come back. I am glad that Senator Cardin, Co-Chair, is 

with us today. 

Senator? 

HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, CO-CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Mr. CARDIN. Well, we have an equal number down from the Senate here. We are taking over. 

Let me thank the chairman for calling this hearing. As my colleagues have pointed out, this is the appropriate role for the Helsinki Commission to take. That is to take a look at specific countries, to look at ways that we can help and improve their records 

in regards to the Helsinki recommendations. 

I might say that the parliamentarians from Azerbaijan are very 

active in the Parliamentary Assembly, and we have good friends, 

and we have engaged them on a regular basis in regards to issues 

that affect all of the states within the OSCE region. So we come 

to this in a way that we hope that we can get a positive working 

relationship in dealing with the Helsinki issues. 

12

So I very much appreciate the fact that the Assistant Secretary 

of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor is here, who of 

course serves on our Commission, but is directly involved in being 

able to help us not only with Azerbaijan, but as it relates to the 

region. We particularly appreciate the Ambassador from Azerbaijan 

being here. I think that is a clear indication of the friendly manner 

in which we do our work in trying to work with friends to help 

each other. 

As we have said many times, we are not immune from questions 

raised in our own country in regards to activities that take place 

in the United States. So we come to this in a positive sense. We 

know of the strategic importance of Azerbaijan to the United 

States. That has been mentioned by many of my colleagues in regards to its location, in regards to energy issues, in regards to security issues. 

I would just like to make one observation, Mr. Chairman, then 

I am going to ask that the rest of my statement be made part of 

the record. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Without objection. 

Mr. CARDIN. And that is, Azerbaijan has a strong Presidential 

system. The President has quite a bit of power in that country and 

can bring about significant changes in a relatively rapid period of 

time. The elections are scheduled for, I believe not scheduled yet, 

but we believe they will take place in October. We would just urge 

the Government of Azerbaijan to open up the process so that it is 

easier for political parties to participate, and opposition representatives to have a fair opportunity in regards to the political process. 

I think that is a legacy that the current administration would be 

proud to establish within a relatively young country from the point 

of view of its independence from the Soviet Union. 

We would also ask this government to take a look at your underlying laws. When you take a look at freedom of expression and the 

media, there are standards that need to be met in your criminal 

code that will allow free expression by the media to be able to report and to be able to do things that are typical of democratic 

states. Obviously, it is a chilling effect when you see individuals 

that my colleagues have referred to, and we do mention specific 

cases because we think that is the best way to get to the facts. We 

can put a face on the issue. 

We know that we can respond by saying, well, that matter is 

under judicial review, or that matter is an individual case. But I 

think it demonstrates the chilling effect it can have on the participation of people within your country. We do believe it is important 

to deal with the specific cases and we hope that we will have a 

chance to do that. 

The bottom line is this is an opportunity to make progress. We 

would urge Azerbaijan to take advantage of that, and we hope that 

this hearing will be a constructive part of that process. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much, Senator. 

All of the comments of my colleagues are deeply appreciated. For 

purposes of you, ladies and gentlemen, that are here with us, we 

do have a Commission Web site at www.csce.gov. All of the comVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
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ments and this entire proceeding once memorialized will be placed 

on our Web site for your perusal as you see fit. 

We also have, although he is not present, but signifying keen interest in this particular hearing, and it is a short letter, and I will 

take the prerogative of the Chair, and in addition to placing it in 

the record, will read it. This is from the Office of the Republican 

Leader of the House of Representatives. He says: ‘‘Dear Mr. Chairman, as a cosponsor of your resolution on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, I want to thank you for holding today’s hearing 

on human rights and democratization in Azerbaijan. I support a 

strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Azerbaijan, and resolving the human rights cases there would only further strengthen our relationship. The conduct of free and open elections is also critical, and I know the Commission will be closely 

monitoring the Presidential elections this October. I look forward 

to continuing to work with you to promote democracy and human 

rights in OSCE member states.’’ That is from John Boehner, the 

Republican Leader. I will have it included in the record.*

[* Editor’s note. The letter referred to may be found on p. 37.] 

Mr. HASTINGS. Secretary Kramer, we didn’t forget that you are 

there, but I will be brief, and urge my colleagues to do likewise, 

because our next witness is one for whom I have a great deal of 

respect. He and I have had very frank and open discussions with 

each other, and that is the Ambassador to the United States from 

Azerbaijan, Yashar Aliyev. I would hope all of us would be able to 

get to him. So I will be very brief. 

I would like to ask you, Mr. Secretary, and I will put both questions and then that way we won’t have to stop your recitation. At 

a recent gathering of Azerbaijan diplomats in Baku, President 

Aliyev essentially said criticism of Azerbaijan’s record would no 

longer be tolerated. Let me quote him: ‘‘The government knows 

well what it is doing and will not allow interference in Azerbaijan’s 

internal affairs. Those who say that something is going wrong in 

Azerbaijan, and there are shortcomings, should look in the mirror 

at their own country. Attempts to apply pressure will just cause 

tension in our relations. While several years ago we may not have 

reacted to this pressure or kept silent, we are not silent today.’’

How do you, Mr. Secretary, interpret these remarks, having just 

recently been in Baku and having discussed human rights issues 

with Azerbaijani officials? I believe among those of us here that 

you would be the most recent visitor. 

Another thing of considerable curiosity, all of the 

Congresspersons and two of the Senators today have pointed to a 

specific case, but beyond the case as highlighted, even human 

rights groups in Azerbaijan seem to disagree as to the number of 

political prisoners. The numbers that we have seen range between 

33 and 57. In your testimony, my recollection is that you used the 

figure 33. Does the State Department maintain such a list? And 

without asking that you identify them all for me now, if you do 

maintain such a list, would you provide the Commission with the 

list and names of all those persons that the State Department considers to be political prisoners in Azerbaijan? 

Sec. KRAMER. Mr. Chairman, thank you for both questions. Let 

me also in the interest of time and with respect to the Ambassador, 

14

try not to take too much time in answering your questions and the 

questions of other Members of the Commission. 

I am familiar with President Aliyev’s comments before his diplomatic corps. I think that they followed my visit at the end of June 

at which I had, as I described, a very candid frank discussion, but 

also a very cordial discussion with President Aliyev. I think it was 

a very good opportunity for him to hear first-hand from a senior 

official in Washington the concerns that we have on a number of 

issues that I touched on, you and your colleagues touched on, particularly related to freedom of the press, and also with the elections 

in the past that have occurred, but the opportunity that the upcoming election presents for Azerbaijan in October. 

I read the comments as a reflection of a country that certainly 

has bounced back, a country that has experienced a significant economic turnaround thanks to its energy riches and resources. I 

think it is a country that also reflects the fact that it is in a very 

tough neighborhood, with some neighbors that aren’t exactly moving in the right direction on a democratic path. I think President 

Aliyev is very attentive to criticism he hears from not only the 

United States, but also from the Council of Europe and other Western organizations. 

It is our hope to engage with him, with other government officials, as I did with the foreign minister, and also to engage with 

members in the opposition in civil society, to encourage Azerbaijan 

to stay on a democratic path, to respect all the human rights reflected in the Helsinki accords, to allow freedom of the press, to 

deal with any problems that occur with journalists being detained 

or harassed or beaten up. So it is our hope that we can take what 

quite honestly has been a source of some friction in the relationship, on the issue of democracy and human rights, and turn it into 

a positive element, just as we have positive elements in our relationship on energy diversification and on security cooperation. 

That is very much the spirit in which I went to Baku to have 

these discussions. I greatly appreciated President Aliyev’s time. He 

spent a considerable amount of time with me. I think it was an opportunity for both of us to have a healthy exchange of views. My 

hope is that we will see some concrete steps emerge. I think we 

have already seen a few of those since I was there at the end of 

June. We hope to see more. 

On the matter of political prisoners, as you described, and the 

numbers. As you rightly pointed out, Mr. Chairman, NGOs estimate between 33 and 57, and apologies if I did not state that we 

also recognize that range. In our human rights report, we do reflect 

concerns about arrests or persecutions of people for politically motivated reasons. In our report, we state that arbitrary arrest and detention, if you will permit me just to read this sentence, particularly of individuals considered by the government to be political opponents, and lengthy pre-trial detention, the government continued 

to imprison persons for politically motivated reasons. 

So we have looked at this matter very seriously. We have looked 

at specific cases and we will continue to do so. I would be happy 

to continue to keep the Commission apprised on that. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Butterfield? 

15

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I am just going to ask one question, Mr. 

Chairman. Thank you very much, and thank you, Mr. Secretary. 

In Farhad’s opening statement during his criminal trial, he said 

that on the eve of his arrest, that the authorities offered to release 

him if he signed a confession implicating the United States of 

America and the U.K. and Germany in the coup. That is troubling 

if it is true. Would you comment on that? 

Sec. KRAMER. Sir, I don’t have anything to confirm that report. 

We have followed his case closely. But if that is true, I agree it 

would be troubling, but I apologize that I am not in a position to 

be able to confirm that information. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Thank you. I have about 20 more questions, 

but I am anxious to hear the Ambassador. Thank you. 

I yield back. 

Sec. KRAMER. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Commissioner Solis? 

Ms. SOLIS. I will be brief also. I just want to hear your take on 

what is it we can do in the remaining months through OSCE to 

help move this agenda forward so that there is more transparency 

and better relations with the Azerbaijani government? 

Sec. KRAMER. Commissioner Solis, I think particularly with the 

election, OSCE can play a very important role here with election 

observation. This is an issue that I raised with President Aliyev 

and other senior officials. It is my hope and my understanding that 

an invitation will be forthcoming for ODIHR. It is my hope also 

that the Parliamentary Assembly will be sending a mission to observe the election there. 

Election observation missions are extremely important in promoting transparency. What is also important is that the assessment of the election be determined not simply on what happens 

election day, but what happens with the totality of the campaign, 

including ability to register, ability to get access to the media, to 

be able to campaign and assemble freely without any obstacles put 

in the candidate’s way. So I think OSCE in particular with the upcoming election has a critical role to play. As a number of us have 

said, I think it is an opportunity for Azerbaijan to seize, and my 

hope is that they certainly take advantage of it. 

Also, OSCE has a representative that deals with media freedom. 

There are two. I think OSCE has a very important role to play in 

raising issues of media freedom, raising the issues of detention of 

journalists, raising the issue of harassment, intimidation, beating 

up of journalists. So I think Azerbaijan as a signatory of OSCE has 

these commitments to abide by, and I think OSCE can play an extremely constructive and positive role in the country. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Senator Burr, Commissioner Burr? 

Mr. BURR. Mr. Chairman, I will extremely brief because I want 

to hear from the Ambassador as well. 

Does the U.S. Government believe that Farhad and his brother 

are in fact legitimate political prisoners? 

Sec. KRAMER. Senator, as you yourself said, I think, because I 

wrote it down. The facts in the case are far from clear. We have 

been working to get to the bottom of the case. We tend to try to 

stay away from exact qualification of these kinds of matters, but 

this is a case where our embassy, as well as officials from WashVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
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ington, have been engaged and will continue to engage on this matter. I think there are questions about due process. There are questions about what is driving the prosecution in this case. And certainly, we will continue to monitor and press on this matter. 

Mr. BURR. I appreciate your need for flexibility. I think the chairman opened the door when he asked was there a list, and I am not 

sure that the chair ever got the answer. You are certainly entitled 

to all the flexibility that you need. But let me ask this, what has 

the United States done, if anything, to seek the release of these 

brothers? 

Sec. KRAMER. We have raised the case of both with the authorities in Baku, and we will continue to do so. We have stressed the 

importance of due process and adequate legal representation, and 

that is the stand that we will continue to follow. 

Mr. BURR. And from that action, is there any reason to be optimistic that we have made any progress? 

Sec. KRAMER. They are still in jail, so I think as long as they are, 

it would be premature for me to say yes or no. 

Mr. BURR. Thank you. 

Sec. KRAMER. Thank you. 

Mr. BURR. I thank the chair. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you. 

Senator Cardin had to leave. I certainly appreciate very much 

the time pressures that all of us are confronted with. 

Secretary Kramer, thank you. Senator Burr pointed out something that I need to underscore as well, and that is our deep appreciation to the government of Azerbaijan for their assistance in Iraq, 

and the tremendous assistance that we have received from them in 

anti-terrorism undertakings. Those are always constructive matters 

that can allow for the kinds of discussions that I am sure you must 

have had with the officials when you were there. Our great hope, 

as has been expressed by all of us, is that our relations will be on 

a positive track and remain that way. I thank you so very much 

for your testimony. 

I also understand that you have the press of time and have to 

proceed. You are welcome to stay if you see so fit. 

Sec. KRAMER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. HASTINGS. At this time, ladies and gentlemen, if we could 

just transition momentarily, change our water and name tags, and 

ask my good friend, Yashar Aliyev. He is an orientalist by training 

and a career diplomat. He has served as Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States since November 2006. From 

1992 to 2001, he was Counselor on Political Affairs at Azerbaijan’s 

permanent mission to the United Nations, as well as two 1-year 

terms as Charge d’affairs in 1993 and 2001. 

Ambassador Aliyev was later appointed his country’s permanent 

representative to the United Nations, serving from 2002 until 2006. 

We are delighted that he is here with us today. I would like to say 

that the Ambassador and I share opportunities to speak with each 

other. I always appreciate it and I hope he appreciates my candor 

and frankness, as he offers his, with reference to not only this matter, but other matters regarding the United States and Azerbaijan 

relationship. 

Ambassador, you may proceed as you see fit, sir. 

17

H.E. YASHAR ALIYEV, AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF 

AZERBAIJAN TO THE UNITED STATES 

Amb. ALIYEV. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the distinguished members of the Helsinki Commission. I thank you sincerely for the opportunity to address this distinguished Commission 

on two priorities for my country: human rights and democratization. 

We made our decision 17 years ago upon regaining our independence back to pursue policies of a pro-Western democratic country 

with a free market economy. We are a secular country with a predominantly Muslim population where you can find our citizens attending a Catholic church, a synagogue, and a mosque within 

blocks of each other in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. 

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by our constitution. We are immensely proud of our long history of religious tolerance. Azerbaijan 

has vibrant Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. We are 

indeed a melting pot of cultures, religions, traditions, and ideas. 

Just this past March, for example, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Bertoni visited Baku, where he reopened a Catholic church 

in downtown of the capital that had been closed for decades under 

Communist rule. 

Located at the crossroads of two great continents, Europe and 

Asia, we have always encouraged diversity and have been a bridge 

between cultures. We are situated in an important region of challenging political dynamics, with Russia to the north, Iran to the 

south, Armenia and Georgia to the west, and our backs against the 

Caspian Sea. 

I am honored to have served for almost 2 years as Ambassador 

for Azerbaijan to the United States, and to have observed your own 

democracy in action during a critical period in America’s history as 

you approach a Presidential election. I have had the opportunity to 

watch first-hand your own Presidential election process. I have 

learned how unique to the domestic culture and realities democracy 

really is. 

Understanding the challenges of building a new democracy, I appreciate former Congressman and Chairman Vin Weber’s opening 

statement about the United States in the recent 2007 annual report of the National Endowment for Democracy. He said about the 

United States, and I quote, ‘‘In our country, with its long tradition 

of self-government, we tend to forget how difficult democracy is to 

create and sustain.’’

As you know, Azerbaijan has emerged from the turbulent years 

following the dissolution of the Soviet Union to become a strong 

friend and ally of the United States and to the international community as a whole. The country is a member of the United Nations, 

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the 

Council of Europe, and other international organizations. It is on 

a path toward World Trade Organization membership and is an active participant in NATO’s Partnership for Peace. 

As both a producing and transit country for Caspian oil and gas, 

Azerbaijan has become a major player in ensuring energy security 

to Europe and the West in general. In fact, just last week, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili stated without ambiguity that 

18

Azerbaijan is a key guarantor of his country’s independence by providing much-needed energy supplies. 

Azerbaijan is also a staunch ally of the United States and international partners in security operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Not only does Azerbaijan provide troops to NATO and coalition 

forces in these countries, it also has granted permission for U.S. 

airplanes to use Azerbaijan’s vital airspace for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. 

Of course, as you are well aware, Azerbaijan faces grave problems concerning the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, which continues 

to result in the illegal occupation by Armenian military forces of 

some 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory. Azerbaijan’s territorial 

integrity has been affirmed and reaffirmed numerous times in past 

years by the U.S. Government. It has also been reaffirmed no fewer 

than five times by the United Nations, the most recent of which 

took place on March 14 of this year with a resolution calling for 

the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territory. 

This conflict has many ramifications, the most pressing of which 

is the continued displacement of up to one million Azerbaijanis 

from their homelands. In resolution 1614 just this past June 24, 

the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that, 

and I quote, ‘‘The assembly considers that sustainable democratic 

development will be extremely difficult in Azerbaijan as long as the 

country’s territorial integrity has not been restored.’’

We seek input from you, the Helsinki Commission, and other respected members of the international community, to help us solve 

this issue without delay. Indeed, when we address the issue of 

human rights in Azerbaijan, we must begin by restoring the human 

rights of almost one million refugees and displaced persons who, as 

we sit here today, are deprived of their right to live in peace and 

happiness in their homeland. 

Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to appear before you today to provide insight into Azerbaijan’s advances in democracy and human 

rights. While no democracy can ever claim to be perfect, we do 

know what we have achieved, what not, and that a lot of things 

are yet to be done. We know that building democracy is a process 

that is full of not only roses, and we understand the challenges 

ahead of us. We welcome your support, the benefit of your experience, your recommendations, and your understanding as we address the many challenges we confront together. 

Azerbaijan has taken major steps to establish and enhance democratic institutions. Today, the country has a robust media environment with more than 1,000 newspapers and magazines, 7 television stations covering the entire country, 14 local stations in 

place, 11 radio stations, 30 news agencies, and 44 electronic mass 

media outlets. 

The country has seen a virtual explosion of Web sites, blogs and 

access to the Internet across the country. Internet traffic in Azerbaijan has increased an astonishing 40 percent thus far this year 

compared to last year. And all this is going in a country the size 

of the State of Maine. 

The new Azerbaijan brings with it a new set of needs and higher 

professional standards of journalism. The United States has been 

19

working with Azerbaijan to help improve these standards and more 

is needed. I ask the members of this distinguished Commission to 

consider practical ways in which we can work together to better 

train a new generation of journalists to meet the professional challenges of the 21st century. 

Azerbaijan enjoys strong political pluralism. There are 52 political parties in the country, 20 of them are currently represented in 

the national parliament. 

This October, the 15th of October, 2008, Azerbaijan will hold its 

fifth Presidential election in 17 years. It also has conducted three 

parliamentary elections and two municipal elections. All of these 

have been held on schedule according to the electoral timetables. 

All of these were open to international observers, as this year’s 

Presidential election will be. As Secretary David Kramer announced, 30 long-term and 450 short-term international observers 

from OSCE will observe the election. 

Improving our electoral practices to meet international standards 

has been a priority. In this regard, we have instituted and amended the electoral code. Examples are following: implemented the 

practice of inking voters’ fingers; declared election day a non-working day to allow all citizens the opportunity to vote; established 

that expert groups involved in the complaints and appeals process 

will be present at constituency commissions; facilitated voting by 

persons in detention; reduced the number of required signatures 

from 45,000 to 40,000 for the registration of a Presidential candidate; mandated that election observers be provided identification 

badges, thereby reducing the number of unauthorized persons in 

polling stations; required verification badges for registered agents 

of candidates, political parties, and political organizations; required 

disclosure of voter addresses in public voter lists. 

Just last month, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission gave 

a positive assessment of these changes to the election code. 

Azerbaijan has created the position of ombudsman to hear concerns from its citizens and to carry those concerns both to the government and to the European Court of Human Rights. It is important to note that just this past June 18, Azerbaijan commemorated 

its first-ever National Day of Human Rights. 

In our democratic process, we understand the importance of facilitating the development of a critical pillar—civil society. Some 

3,500 Azerbaijani and international NGOs have been established in 

the country, providing a welcome pillar to the strengthening of civil 

society. In December 2007, the State Council for the Support of 

NGOs was established by Presidential decree. This council seeks to 

accelerate the further enhancement of civil society in the country. 

Eight of its members are nominated by the NGO community, with 

the three remaining members nominated by public agencies. On 

June 13 of this year, the council announced in the press a competition for NGO projects in 15 areas, including human rights of refugees, women, and youth. Submitted projects will be examined by a 

group of experts and selected by the end of July. This year, $1.5 

million will be allocated to these NGO projects. 

As far as maintaining the independence of the mass media, a 

working group created by the Azerbaijan Media Council has recently developed a concept on state support to mass media. This 

20

document helps to define financial assistance for the media, including credit allocation and debt reduction. This measure will soon be 

submitted to the president for further consideration. 

This Helsinki Commission has inquired about the detention of 

journalists. In accordance with the Presidential pardon decree of 

December 28, 2007, five journalists were released from prison. 

A new draft law amending the law on freedom of assembly currently in force in the country was elaborated in close cooperation 

with experts from the Council of Europe Venice Commission and 

OSCE/ODIHR. On December 15, 2007, the Venice Commission provided a final opinion stating that if adopted, they will be in accordance with European standards. The law with amendments was 

adopted just 2 months ago on May 30, 2008 by the parliament and 

has been praised by the council of Europe representatives. According to the amendments, organizers have to inform the relevant administrative body about the place and time of the demonstration 

and also route of the rally 5 days before the demonstration. Freedom of assembly only can be limited in cases envisaged by the law 

and for national or public security, preventing crime or disorders, 

protection of health and morality, and rights of other persons. 

In the area of increasing transparency and combating corruption, 

Azerbaijan has achieved the following over the last few years, including: adopted the law on combating corruption on January 13, 

2004; secured Presidential approval of the state program on combating corruption on September 3, 2004; the Anti-Corruption Commission started to function at the Public Service Management 

Board; established Department for Combating Corruption within 

the Prosecutor General’s office; and on June 28, 2007, the president 

issued the order endorsing the national strategy on strengthening 

transparency and combating corruption and the action plan for its 

implementation for years 2007 to 2011. 

The national strategy recommends the following measures: improvement of legislation, law enforcement and courts; closer cooperation with civil society; advancement of anti-corruption culture; 

and enhancement of the anti-corruption work of governmental institutions. 

Additionally, Azerbaijan has created a Commission on Combating 

Corruption, which is part of the State council on the Management 

of Civil Service. This commission functions as a specialized agency 

on combating corruption. It is comprised of 15 members, five appointed by the President, five by the Parliament, and five by the 

Constitutional Court. 

We attach great importance on ensuring women’s political and 

economic rights and providing them with adequate representation 

at all levels of decisionmaking process. In March 2000, the President signed the decree on implementation of the national gender 

policy in the Republic of Azerbaijan. For the past years, the number of women in political and decisionmaking has considerably increased. It is worth mentioning that Azerbaijani women gained 

electoral rights long before more developed countries, that is in 

1918. Today, female parliamentarians represent more than 11 percent in the parliament of Azerbaijan. 

Three Deputy Ministers of Education, of Economic Development, 

and of Culture, one Chairperson of the State Committee, and one 

21

Chairperson of the State Commission are women. Besides, one 

Deputy of the Chairman of the National Parliament out of three, 

Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan, and Deputy Prime Minister of 

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are women. The total percentage of women working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan is more than 19 percent, from which 5 percent 

are women occupying leading positions. Two diplomat women are 

representing the country on the international level, one Ambassador and one permanent representative. Nowadays, women are 

widely represented in business sectors. The number of women engaged in entrepreneurship activities has increased more than 6 

percent in the year 2008. 

Azerbaijan, appreciating the importance of intercultural and 

interreligious dialogue and tolerance, has embarked on a series of 

important events intended to further this dialogue and to establish 

future goals and agendas. In the year 2007, a conference entitled 

The Role of Media in Promoting Tolerance, was held in Azerbaijan, 

which attracted attendees and observers from 11 international organizations and 49 countries. 

Just recently in June, Baku hosted a major forum on the role of 

women in intercultural dialogue under the auspices of the first lady 

of Azerbaijan. Participants included the first ladies of Latvia, Poland, Angola, South Africa, as well as spouses of the Vice President 

of Argentina, the Prime Minister of Turkey, and the first lady of 

the State of Texas. On December 2 and 3, 2008, Baku will host a 

conference of the European ministers of culture with representatives from the Council of Europe, Islamic Educational, Scientific, 

and Cultural Organization, ISESCO, and Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, ALECSO, which will 

focus on the role of intercultural dialogue as a vehicle for peace. 

Mr. Chairman, Azerbaijan welcomes the attention the United 

States has given to democratic issues in the country and to the 

South Caucasus as a region. We in the South Caucasus have faced 

numerous challenges. One neighboring country faced unprecedented post-election violence in which innocent civilians were killed 

and a ban on independent media was imposed. Another neighboring country enacted martial law and shut down media outlets. 

We have all passed through difficult times, but we have all been 

heartened by the friendship and support of the United States and 

its people. 

Mr. Chairman, democracy requires constant nurturing and attention. Its establishment brings many challenges. I am confident that 

the United States, which has led valiant efforts to bring peace and 

democracy to volatile regions of the world in recent years, understands these difficulties very well. 

Azerbaijan cherishes its friendship with the United States, as I 

am sure the United States does with us. As friends, we celebrate 

one another’s successes. As friends, we are allowed to disagree from 

time to time, and to point out one another’s shortcomings. And as 

friends, all that we require is that we treat one another with the 

same level of fairness that we give to others. 

As you are aware, Azerbaijan often suffers from spurious campaigns that deliberately mislead and misinform the American public. As the great American essayist E.B. White famously remarked, 

22

and I quote, ‘‘Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.’’

In summary, Mr. Chairman, I would like to state we are a young 

democracy. We seek to move forward and to distinguish ourselves 

in several areas—leadership of women, religious freedom, economic 

opportunity, and growth. We also recognize certain needs for improvement and we will continue to make progress in these areas. 

We remain committed to the principles of democracy and freedom. We are building such a society not for the international community, not for the outside world, but for ourselves, for our citizens, for our nation, and for our own prosperous and peaceful future. 

Thank you for this opportunity to address these important issues 

with you. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Before I go to my colleagues, beginning with Mr. 

Butterfield and Ms. Solis and Senator Burr, I thought as I listened 

to you, Ambassador, and your quoting yet another former colleague 

of ours, Vin Weber, at the outset of your remarks, indicating how 

difficult it is to achieve, preserve and maintain democracy. I certainly agree with Vin’s comments that you offered and the fact that 

you offered them in that way. 

You were here when I began my remarks, and the remarks that 

I offered allowed, among other things, that we have had two Helsinki Commission hearings this year on Guantanamo. We have 

held one at the University of Maryland dealing with the subject of 

torture. And just last week, we held a hearing dealing with human 

rights standards as it pertains to medical evidence of torture by 

U.S. personnel. 

Now, here is how I feel, and you correct me if I am wrong. I had 

no compunction when I was doing that that President Bush or the 

Justice Department or anybody in authority was going to come and 

say to me that I couldn’t do that. And then after I did it, I had no 

feelings, nor do I now, criticizing them today, and I wouldn’t care 

if it was a Democrat or a Republican administration. I have criticized both and when they both deserved it, I criticized. I didn’t 

think I was going to go to jail because of that. 

Now, do you feel, if I had done the same thing in Azerbaijan in 

criticizing President Aliyev, with reference to political prisoners, 

and I do believe that the United States has done wrong by people 

that we have held, and I would say that to President Aliyev is it 

is true. Now, do you think I would still be walking around Baku? 

Amb. ALIYEV. You know, let’s try. I don’t know. Let’s try. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Yes, well, I think that is a fair answer to perhaps 

what was a rhetorical question. [Laughter.] 

And that is that my butt would be in jail, you understand. And 

so I just want you to take that back to the President as my offer. 

I am going to go to Mr. Butterfield, and I will ask some other 

questions after my other Commissioners. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Ambassador, thank you very much. I was listening very carefully to your statement. It is a very well thought and a very well 

delivered statement. Thank you, thank you very much. 

23

Earlier in this hearing, Mr. Ambassador, Chairman Hastings 

quoted what appeared to be verbatim your President. Did you hear 

that quote that he mentioned earlier? And if you did, is it accurate? 

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes, I did. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. OK. 

Amb. ALIYEV. I heard the quotation from his remarks, but you 

know, I am not in a position to confirm it is 100 percent correct, 

but yes. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Sure. And it has a confrontational tone. What 

we are trying to do now in our relationship with other countries 

around the world is to try to decrease the confrontation and increase the diplomatic relationships between our countries. You 

know, I think the tone of that statement is not well advised. I 

would hope that as we go forward that the rhetoric would cease 

and we would continue to work together. 

In your statement, and you can correct me if I am wrong, you 

did not mention the two brothers that all of us have been talking 

about today. As you can perceive from listening to all of us, we are 

very much concerned about these two men. We are concerned about 

the circumstances under which they were arrested and charged, 

and we are concerned about their future. Are you free to discuss 

the two brothers, Farhad and Rafiq? 

Amb. ALIYEV. You know, kind of. I cannot say that I am completely free to discuss. I am free to discuss——

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Tell us what you can discuss, because we are 

concerned about it. 

Amb. ALIYEV. I cannot say what I don’t know, simply. I have the 

permission provided by the Office of the Prosecutor General, and 

I easily can share it with you. It is in front of me, and by the 

way——

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Now, the Chairman has given me 5 minutes, 

and I have used up about 3 minutes, so if you can do it briefly, I 

would appreciate it. 

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes. I just would like to mention that a while ago, 

the first edition of this information has been submitted to the 

chairman, when we have met and discussed this matter. Let me be 

very brief, and I will let you know the principal charges against 

those two brothers. As in the United States of America and many 

other countries, the law forbids the government members and officials of Azerbaijan to exchange in business activities. Ex-Minister 

for Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. 

Farhad Aliyev, was charged inter alia with embezzlement, abuse of 

power and illegal entrepreneurship. His brother, Mr. Rafiq Aliyev, 

charges centered on smuggling, tax evasion, and illegal entrepreneurship activities. They both were in custody and were tried in 

compliance with Azerbaijan’s criminal and criminal procedural 

courts. 

Mr. Aliyev, Farhad, and Mr. Aliyev, Rafiq, were charged with 

embezzling state property and improvisation (ph) shares in the 

amount of more than $73 (ph). Benefiting from illegal entrepreneurship in the amount of more than $400,000 and smuggling precious jewelry and crude oil in the amount of more than $7 million. 

The duration of Aliyev’s detention did not exceed the maximum period under Azerbaijan’s law. They were arrested in October 2005 

24

and their detention was extended in successive rulings in accordance with provision 15948 of the criminal procedural code of the 

Republic of Azerbaijan. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Is it the shorthand way of saying that corruption—they were charged with corruption? 

Amb. ALIYEV. In short, yes, corruption. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Well, if corruption was the real reason for his 

arrest, why was he not charged with corruption at the time of his 

arrest? That is what——

Amb. ALIYEV. Sir, allow me to disagree with you. Information I 

have been provided, and I can show it, on October 23, Mr. Farhad 

Aliyev was charged and arrested by the Nasimi (ph) District Court 

under provision such-and-such of criminal court of Azerbaijan. And 

he had been arrested under the provision of three items of the 

criminal code, including the corruption. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. And they are still awaiting trial? Is that correct? 

Amb. ALIYEV. No, no. It is over. They have been sentenced. They 

are serving now, with Farhad for 10 years and Rafiq, I believe, 9 

years. 

Now, allow me to give you more information about——

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Well, either the Senator or the Congresswoman may want to continue this line, but I think my time has 

expired. I am sure they will. So Mr. Chairman, I am going to yield 

back the balance of my time. 

Amb. ALIYEV. Mr. Chairman? 

Mr. HASTINGS. Could you abbreviate it as best as possible? I will 

include the whole statement in the record and post it on the Web 

site. But there was one more point? 

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes. You know, about the time of the visitation, 

since we have been discussing this at the time, yes, you know, I 

had received confirmed information that Farhad Aliyev was visited 

by his spouse and two sons June 30, 2007, 12 days before the resolution 183 was tabled. And the last time they met, July 12, 2008, 

from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m., spouse and his two sons. There is a full 

list of meetings——

Mr. HASTINGS. If you give me the full list, I will put it in the 

record. 

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes, I will. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Commissioner Solis? 

Ms. SOLIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

My question, Mr. Aliyev, thank you. I wanted to go back to a 

comment you made about the rights of journalists now and your attempt by the government to have a more what I thought I believed 

to hear more transparency. I wanted to ask you in particular how 

the current criminal code is structured. My belief is there are some 

elements in the code that allow the government to continue to prosecute journalists if they are not in agreement with statements that 

they made, either slanderous or in some way menacing to the government. I wanted to ask you if there is any attempt on the part 

of your government to try to rectify that or change or look at 

changing the criminal code, because on the one hand you are saying you are reforming, but yet your statutes allow you to go after 

25

journalists who may not be in sync with what the government feels 

may not be appropriate. 

Amb. ALIYEV. Thank you very much, Madam Congresswoman. As 

I told you, our mass media environment, just to like to repeat, we 

have more than 1,000 newspapers and magazines, 7 national stations, 14 local, 13 news agencies, et cetera, et cetera. So Azerbaijan 

media is governed by civil laws, and they are a big number: the law 

on TV and radio broadcasting, the law on mass media adopted a 

new edition in March 16, 2002. The Presidential decree on 

strengthening state support to media, July, 2001; the Presidential 

decree on additional measures on strengthening state support to 

media; the law on public TV and broadcasting; the law on access 

for information. 

So there are a number of, you know, journalist organizations in 

the country. 

Ms. SOLIS. Yes, but my point——

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes, I am going to the point now. So criminal court 

of Azerbaijan, now we have to speak about the defamation and 

libel. So each country has its own traditions and each country has 

its own values. So my country is a relatively young country as a 

democracy, but it has deep traditions that are ingrained in society. 

Some of the things seen in the tabloid journalism of other countries 

is deeply offensive to the Azerbaijani sensibility and to the social 

code of conduct. The notion of granting anyone carte blanche immunity for the things they distribute or disseminate in public, especially when it is not based on fact, is simply a new concept for 

much in Azerbaijan. 

So what I would like to say is, the fact that, you know, the libel 

and defamation should be repealed or deleted from Azerbaijani 

criminal code is a very new topic for our republic. This topic is 

under very extensive and intensive, you know, discussion on the 

part of the government officials, on the part of the scientists, the 

lawyers, and simply the citizens of Azerbaijan. 

Ms. SOLIS. Is there any—can you give us any information as to 

whether there will be an attempt to constructively look a changing 

the code? That is what I am asking you. 

Amb. ALIYEV. I understand your point, ma’am. I can assure you 

that we are giving very serious attention and consideration to this 

matter. I cannot vouch that it will be solved with a couple of days 

or within a couple of months, but this item is in our agenda, and 

we are discussing this matter with the Council of Europe and 

OSCE. 

Ms. SOLIS. Right. OK. And I am sure OSCE will be very happy 

to engage and provide whatever assistance we can. 

My next question, and I know my time is running out, has to 

deal with religion. You talked earlier about the different faiths that 

are practiced there in your country, and I think that is commendable. That is great. But I also understand that there have been two 

arrests, two criminal trials that have been conducted, one against 

a Baptist pastor, Hamid Chavenoff (ph), who was sentence, the 

Baptist pastor, and who is now in prison in 2007. He is being prosecuted on charges that he held an illegal weapon and faces up to 

3 years imprisonment. This church and family insists that the 

26

weapon was planted during a raid on his home on June 20, in 

which he was arrested. 

Meanwhile, in Baku, there is also a prosecution underway of a 

Jehovah’s Witness who contends that because he is a conscientious 

objector, that he is now evading military service, that he is also 

being charged. So I would like you to, if you can, speak on these 

two criminal cases. 

Amb. ALIYEV. You know, I can just only confirm that indeed that 

gentleman he is, you know, sentenced because of the possession of 

the armament. So it is true. But the second fact, I am not——

Ms. SOLIS. You are not aware? Can you provide us information 

and get back to us on that? 

Amb. ALIYEV. I will provide later on information on this matter. 

Ms. SOLIS. And just to go back to the question about journalism, 

I mentioned that there were some releases of journalists there, but 

there still remain four that are behind bars. Can you give us any 

information as to where their trial is, where are we in that situation? 

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes, I will. In my list, there are three. And I understand we are talking about the fourth one. The fifth one is Sakit 

Zahidov. He was held criminally liable not for defamation, but for 

acquiring and retaining narcotics. He is in fact a poet. He was offered, but refused a pardon. Just so you know the facts of the case, 

Zahidov was detained in 2006 in Baku district by counter-narcotics 

police. Officers found in his left pocket about 10 grams of heroin 

packaged in cellophane. He was convicted under article 234.1 for 

possession of illegal narcotics. 

The editor-in-chief and the owner of the newspaper Realni Azerbaijan, named Eynulla Fatullayev, was held criminally liable by 

private charge for insulting the honor and dignity of Hochala (ph) 

residents that suffered Armenian aggression and genocide. Afterward Eynulla Fatullayev was accused also of another crime. In 

April 2007, different foreign companies, organizations and individuals operating in Azerbaijan received information stating that if 

Azerbaijan supports an untied (ph) Iran coalition, Iran would instigate neutral strikes against Azerbaijan and 16 (ph) strategic objects would be exploded by hundreds of suicide bombers. 

After the investigation, his case was sent to Grave Crimes Court 

and Fatullayev was found guilty of three articles of the criminal 

code: threat of terrorism, evasion from taxes, inciting of national 

hatred. He was sentenced to 81⁄2 years, [inaudible] that was [inaudible] on appeal. 

The third one, Ganimat Zahidov, editor in chief of Azadlig newspaper, was held criminally liable for injuries and hooliganism following a charge by an Azerbaijani citizen on March 7, 2008. He 

was found guilty on articles light (ph) injuries and hooliganism and 

sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. 

So as you can see, there is no relation to their professional activities, all based on their, let me say, disorder and they received appropriate sentences up to the court trial. 

Ms. SOLIS. Well, I don’t have all the evidence before me, but I 

have just some skepticism in what I am hearing. If they initially 

begin to talk to an individual because there is something that may 

not be in agreement with the government, then there are grounds 

27

to go a little bit further and there may be something there that I 

am missing, or that I did not hear from. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you, Commissioner. 

Senator? 

Mr. BURR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Ambassador, I thank you for your willingness to be here. Your 

statement was thorough, well done. I am not sure that it encompassed all the concerns that Members have expressed in the form 

of their statements or questions. I take to heart your comments on 

the friendship between two countries, because friendships when 

headed in the right direction, grow; friendships when headed in the 

wrong direction eventually breed further confrontation. 

I said in my opening statement, I pointed out a number of things 

that are I think fact. I haven’t heard anybody dispute them, that 

international observers said that elections were marred by irregularities that resulted in elections being less than free and fair. 

That was the 1998–2003. The 2005 suffered the same fate and 

these observers said were further compromised by the tension of 

over 300 political activists and candidates. 

Now, I wanted to make sure you particularly heard my comment 

about this October election, which you have referred to as October 

15. We will watch and we will listen to observers. I hope that Azerbaijan will work very closely with those observers to make sure 

that their evaluation of free and fair is accurate of what takes 

place. More importantly, that this commission will watch the comments of those observers and we will use that in the context that 

it is provided to us. 

What forces me to reinforce that is specifically the fact that you 

are a signatory. The acts of signatories, which reflect compliance or 

violation of the articles of the Helsinki Final Act, this is something 

that we would hole any signatory to; this is not picking you out of 

a group and saying we are going to go through this intense review. 

This is, I hope, the same standard that others hold us to, and I expect it. 

So let me move to two questions on the two brothers, if I may. 

It is my understanding, right or wrong, that Farhad has had a 

medical condition, and is it true that he has been denied the medical treatment that he has needed? 

Amb. ALIYEV. Sir, if I may once again, there is information about 

this. There is a certain portion about his medical examination. He 

was first examined on December 28, 2005, and the last time he was 

examined on January 28, 2008 by a panel of doctors consisting of 

a number of Azerbaijani physicians. So this is very short, just for 

the sake of time. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Would the gentleman yield? 

Mr. BURR. I would be happy to yield. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Were any of those physicians of his own choosing, 

Ambassador? 

Amb. ALIYEV. Sir, it is a good question, but there is no mention 

of it here. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Would you get that information for me? 

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you. 

Thank you, Senator. 

28

Amb. ALIYEV. I have 15 items about his medical examination. It 

is here. 

Mr. HASTINGS. We will put it on the Web site. 

Amb. ALIYEV. Yes. 

Mr. BURR. Ambassador, is he imprisoned in the Ministry of National Security? 

Amb. ALIYEV. You know, to the best of my knowledge, the question of his transportation from the Ministry of National Security to 

the regular jailhouse is under discussion, and he will be removed 

soon. 

Mr. BURR. Is it standard procedure in Azerbaijan to hold an individual accused of financial crimes in the government ministry 

buildings? 

Amb. ALIYEV. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t know. I guess 

not. 

Mr. BURR. Understand the importance of this question. You have 

stressed the fact that this Commission, these individuals, we 

should try to base our opinions on facts. This is an important aspect. I would find it somewhat unusual for any government to 

house a criminal, somebody who had been found guilty of financial 

crimes, in the Ministry of National Security. So if he has been held, 

is being held, continues to be held, may be transferred based upon 

questions that we ask in the Ministry of Security, that begins to 

suggest to me that there is more to this than possibly what has 

been shared. 

I don’t believe that it would be standard procedure in any country in the world that a criminal, an individual charged with a 

crime of financial consequences, would in fact be housed in anything other than the prison that everybody else would be. So I hope 

you will look into this. I hope you will share with the appropriate 

people in Azerbaijan the serious questions that we ask to try to 

separate the fact from the fiction that clearly you alluded to. My 

hope is that as we look at October 15, we have an opportunity from 

an international observation of this election cycle that we can both 

turn around and say this was free, it was fair, and that this was 

the start at repairing some of the concerns, some of the questions, 

some of the un-factual things that might exist. 

Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much, Ambassador. We greatly 

appreciate your testimony. 

I would like in light of the fact that I know you know, as well 

as Azerbaijani officials, that I was a lead observer for the OSCE 

to the parliamentary elections in 2005. 

Thank you, Senator. 

Since that time, as you well know, and before that time, I was 

an observer in a considerable number of elections, including three 

in Russia, two in Ukraine, two in Georgia, one in Armenia, and I 

could go on and on and on. I only say that for the reason that when 

the ultimate statement is pronounced by the chair and office’s designee, that statement comes from the work of those persons, including ODIHR, the Council of Europe in most instances, the NATO 

Parliamentary Assembly sometimes, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 

29

Now, I don’t and did not and will not take orders from my State 

Department about what is to be said in those meetings. As a matter of fact, Ambassador, very occasionally when I am visiting a 

country in my capacity for the Parliamentary Assembly, I do not 

ask, seek, or permit our U.S. Ambassadors to visit with me when 

I visit with officials at the official level, from President to Foreign 

Ministers to Ambassadors. 

So if we have any democracy lesson here is, we do have a separation of powers. I don’t take no orders from nobody but the people 

that I represent. 

I thank you very, very much for your testimony today. 

Mr. Walker, if you would come hurriedly. I do appreciate your 

patience. 

Ambassador, you are certainly welcome to stay and listen to Mr. 

Walker. 

As we are setting up, Christopher Walker is Director of Studies 

at Freedom House, where he helps oversee a team of senior analysts and researchers in devising overall strategy for Freedom 

House’s analytical publications. These projects include Countries at 

the Crossroads, Nations in Transit, Freedom of the Press, and 

Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and 

Civil Liberties. 

Mr. Walker is responsible for generating special studies and reports, initiating task forces, and responding to critical news and democracy issues through statements and op-eds. 

Mr. Walker, your full statement will be allowed into the record, 

and I would appreciate it—I know the hour is late—but I also have 

to go to the Rules Committee at some point and I want to get as 

much as I can from you, so if you would——

Mr. WALKER. I have an abbreviated statement. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much. 

CHRISTOPHER WALKER, DIRECTOR OF STUDIES, FREEDOM 

HOUSE 

Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, Commissioner Solis, thank you so 

much for inviting Freedom House to testify here today and provide 

comment on recent developments in Azerbaijan in advance of their 

Presidential elections this October. 

Freedom House’s mission is to monitor and support democratic 

development, and we have taken a keen interest in Azerbaijan’s 

democratic development and human rights performance over the 

last 30 years we have been monitoring it. Other speakers have underscored Azerbaijan’s strategic importance, its geographic importance, in an increasingly complex energy environment. It is fair to 

say that Azerbaijan is a strategically important state. 

Given the country’s clear strategic importance, I would emphasize four points. The first is, Azerbaijan’s record on developing 

democratically accountable and transparent institutions is poor, 

and by our measures is getting worse. Azerbaijan is ranked not 

free both in our survey of political rights and civil liberties, and in 

our annual survey of global media freedom. 

Second point is that Azerbaijan, their authorities have not done 

enough to advance crucial reform measures that will enable the 

country to manage its resource wealth effectively. 

30

The third point is the resource curse is growing its roots in the 

country, according to our findings. Our recent Nations in Transit 

finding which were recently released indicated that Azerbaijan, like 

Russia and Kazakhstan, have seen a downward trajectory on virtually all of their democratic indicators over the last decade, and 

this downward trajectory has accelerated as the price of oil has 

risen. 

The fourth point is that the authorities now seem to have 

dropped even the pretense of enabling more accountable and transparent institutions. I noted in the earlier comment of some of the 

Commissioners that this was a concern. This is also something that 

we have noted in our recent monitoring of Azerbaijan. 

So I will return quickly to the issues of the resource curse and 

resource nationalism, but would first like to share a few key observations on two particular issues: on the election and media freedom, issues that have been focused on over the course of this discussion. 

I would note in the interest of brevity the most recent assessments that we have looked at, which have come from the OSCE’s 

ODIHR needs assessment report which was issued just 2 weeks 

ago. Among a host of concerns that were listed, there was one that 

was a priority concern, the notion that the pre-election environment right now is not conducive to free competition of political 

ideas and different platforms. This is principally due to constraints 

on freedom of assembly and the media. 

The track record of recent elections, according to our measures, 

indicates that right now the likelihood of having a competitive election process coming into October is remote. I think Secretary Kramer hit on this. It is not only election day that matters. It is the 

constellation of ingredients that we look at that will contribute to 

a meaningful competitive and fair election. 

I would note that in the last election cycle, there were a number 

of modest positive steps that the authorities took. This included 

lifting a ban on election monitoring by local NGOs that receive 

more than 30 percent of their funding from outside sources, and 

the creation of a public television station. These measures, however, were put into place very late in that last election cycle and 

therefore didn’t achieve the degree and quality of implementation 

needed to be effective. 

The ongoing challenges faced by the political opposition have also 

been described in some detail in the joint evaluation of the draft 

amendment to Azerbaijan’s electoral code undertaken by the Venice Commission and OSCE’s ODIHR, and they have chronicled a 

host of issues that need to be addressed quickly in order to have 

the other ingredients in place for a fair election this October. 

Others today have noted the critical importance of media freedom. I will take just a minute to touch on this. We have noticed 

in our evaluation, and this is across a host of analyses we do each 

year. This is four separate analytical lenses that the media pressure that is being applied by the authorities has taken a difficult 

environment and made it significantly more difficult. 

Azerbaijan’s media sector confronts a host of major obstacles, and 

the authorities use a variety of tools to manipulate and intimidate 

the press. State businesses, for example, do not advertise as a rule 

31

in opposition newspapers. There is very extensive influence by the 

authorities over state businesses in determining where their significant funds go in the media business. A private business with interests in state contracts in an economy still dominated by the 

state will usually decide caution is wiser in advertising with opposition newspapers. 

Distribution is also a significant challenge for opposition newspapers, and critically—and this is I think a thread running through 

so many of the questions in this discussion—the court system is 

subordinated to the executive and doesn’t allow publishers, editors 

and others meaningful legal recourse. 

So there are a host of other media-related items that I have included here. I won’t get into them during this discussion. Let me 

focus on what may be the critical issue for the purposes of international policymakers. And that is, the impact of energy wealth on 

Azerbaijan’s key institutions. As oil and gas revenues have surged, 

the incentives for the government to enable meaningful alternative 

voices domestically and to heed the advice of international organizations has been diminished. In an address to international diplomats on July 6 that was cited earlier, President Aliyev made it 

unambiguously clear that Azerbaijan is posturing itself with a resource nationalism orientation. 

He has also suggested that Azerbaijan might well withdraw from 

rules-based institutions, rather than comply with their standards 

or requirements that the government opposes. The budget dimension of the current Azeri energy wealth suggests a couple of important points. The first is there is now more than 30 percent of the 

overall budget represented by state oil revenues. These have been 

principally directed in two directions. One has been to military expenditures, and the other to infrastructure projects. 

The massive scale of these projects and the lack of transparency 

in the allocation of funds have led to questions about the efficiency 

of the expenditure of public money and the selection of contractors. 

Indeed, as the economic windfall from high oil prices rockets upward and the temptations of oil money grow, it is all the more important to have meaningful political reform to put basic checks on 

rents, runaway patronage and other forms of corruption. 

I will conclude with the following observations. Although we are 

still nearly 3 months from the upcoming October elections, senior 

Azeri officials have already suggested that a third term might be 

in the offing for President Aliyev. This suggests potentially that the 

country is laying the foundations for a possible leader-for-life system, along the lines of those that have been anchored in countries 

such as Belarus or a number of the Central Asian states. Such controlled and insular politics clearly have profound drawbacks. These 

politically closed systems create zero-sum winner-takes-all approaches to governing, and with unchecked power comes unchecked 

corruption. In fact, hyper-corruption is the soft underbelly of these 

sorts of models in which accountability and transparency is in low 

supply. 

It is no surprise, therefore, that in 2007 out of 179 countries surveyed, Azerbaijan shared the 150th ranking, along with countries 

such as Belarus, Congo, Kazakhstan, Kenya, and others in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. 

32

The challenges to promoting reform in Azerbaijan are considerable. However, given the state and the strategic nature of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus and wider Europe and Eurasian region, 

Freedom House believes that the U.S. Government should continue 

to support democratic and human rights activists and critically 

support accountable and transparent institutions. 

I would conclude with one final thought, and that is the decision 

that the authorities take today concerning the investment of the 

nation’s extraordinary energy wealth will define the country’s 

course for the next generation and beyond. A system that enables 

little accountability for how these resources are used holds enormous risks that these unprecedented, but ultimately finite wealth 

and resources may not be enjoyed by the vast majority of ordinary 

citizens in that country. 

Thank you. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much, Mr. Walker. 

You have argued that energy-rich countries are especially likely 

to develop authoritarian political systems. But what about Belarus, 

which is certainly a country that has oil and gas? I would argue 

to you that the key, it would seem, or a factor of considerable import would be political will on the part of the country’s leadership, 

as opposed to where the wealth comes from. 

I spent a large portion of my early career in and out of Africa 

having served on the Subcommittee on Africa. Many of the countries that I went to were not rich with resources, and yet they had 

very similar governance issues. Therefore, I find it difficult to believe that oil and gas standing alone leads to the kind of outcome 

that you are suggesting. I read a couple of your articles and I had 

the thought that I have. What is your response? 

Mr. WALKER. Well, Mr. Chairman, you raise a critically important point, and that is the energy wealth isn’t causing these countries to be authoritarian. The point is that the energy wealth is intensifying existing authoritarian structure. So no one would argue 

that in any three of the cases I cited that the energy wealth has 

transformed these countries from something they weren’t before. In 

all of these countries, there are extraordinary challenges. The institutions are still struggling with post-Soviet legacy. They have, as 

was mentioned earlier before, very strong Presidential systems, 

which also creates obstacles to reform. 

Nevertheless, I think what is striking in our findings is with this 

sort of resource at the disposal of not only Azerbaijan, but 

Kazakhstan and Russia, I would put in this category, one would 

hope that there would be some doors open for, say, greater media 

pluralism, meaningful pluralism. 

I would also clarify something that was mentioned earlier, and 

that is there is pluralism in the print media in Azerbaijan. There 

are an enormous number of print publications. They represent a 

small part of the media landscape. As is the case in so many countries, it is broadcast media that most ordinary citizens get their 

news and information from. 

In addition to that, if anything, the obstacles to the print media, 

even with their relatively less influential role in communicating to 

ordinary citizens, is becoming more difficult for a variety of reasons. I think that is worth noting. 

33

Mr. HASTINGS. Do you perceive as Ambassador Aliyev said, in asserting to a positive, the growth of Internet usage? My recollection 

from his testimony is 30 percent growth in usage. That is pretty 

impressive when you think about it. Is that something that you factor in, not broadcast media like CNN or whatever would be the 

case in Azerbaijan? 

Mr. WALKER. It is. And it is an extraordinarily important issue 

and I am glad you raised it. The overall usage in Azerbaijan now 

in percentage terms is fairly modest, but the trajectory is upward, 

which is terrific. The content of Internet use in Azerbaijan right 

now is very, very good. All things considered, in terms of a discussion of meaningful community-related issues, political issues, that 

is where you will find most of the action today. 

I would note with some caution and trepidation, however, that 

just in the last couple of days there has been a discussion of creating another layer of monitoring of the Internet. This was proposed, or at least discussed, by the Minister of Communications 

and Technology, Mr. Adisov (ph), that in addition to three existing 

entities that already regulate the Internet for the purposes of 

cyber-crime, there may be another layer that would fulfill what appears to be a duplicative purpose oriented toward cyber-crime. 

Some of the fears in the press freedom community are that this 

may be used to restrict proper and appropriate use of the Internet 

going forward, in part because the trajectory is going upward. If 

other media are used as a barometer for the treatment that they 

receive from the authorities, the Internet may be now in the crosshairs. I think this is something that should be viewed with great 

scrutiny and concern by all those who look to see a safeguarded 

media environment in Azerbaijan. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Right. Well, I appreciate all of your testimony. As 

I have indicated, I will post it all on our Web site. 

You heard, and you were very patient in sitting here, and I appreciate very much that you took the time. But you heard the testimony of Secretary Kramer and Ambassador Aliyev, and you heard 

all of the questions and statements of my fellow Commissioners. 

Several of them are pointed to, and I asked Ambassador Kramer 

about the number of persons that NGOs site to as being political 

prisoners. 

What is your view on this issue? And does Freedom House believe that there are political prisoners in Azerbaijan? 

Mr. WALKER. I would answer the question in the following way, 

with two dimensions. The first is the definition of political prisoners, as other participants have alluded to, isn’t always clear and 

fast. So I think right now there is a consensus that there remains 

a significant number, too many, political prisoners in Azerbaijan. 

But what I have taken away from the discussion today is the 

thread that runs through the Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev case, the 

other prisoners who are being detained for what may be political 

purposes, it is hard to tell because the system is so non-transparent. It is difficult to have confidence in the outcomes that are 

produced when you don’t have meaningful checks and watchdogs, 

either in the form of the press, which it is so critically important 

that the authorities ease the pressure that has been growing in recent months and years, frankly, to allow a more meaningful discusVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
34

sion of the issues that are critical, not for the purposes of international NGOs or for the Commission, but for ordinary Azeri citizens who are looking to hear that their Governors are doing right 

by them. 

I think that is what has been missing. And troublingly, the trajectory in our evaluation is heading in the wrong direction. I think 

this is at a meta-level the issue that has been more worrisome to 

us. It squares in large measure with not only Freedom House findings, but I think if you look at other international watchdog 

groups, as well as the supra-national organizations and institutions 

that do their work, even if they don’t perhaps quantify it in precisely the same ways, if you look at what the ODIHR has been saying, if you look at what the Council of Europe has been saying, 

there is I would say fundamental consensus that things have been 

constricting in terms of political space in the last few years. 

That is hard to square with the fact you have these sorts of enormous resources coming into the country which should at root, one 

would hope, open up some breathing space, provide some pluralism 

both at the business-news media level, but I think also in other 

sectors that we would all agree on would be salutary for the country’s development. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I agree with everything you have said and I 

would add that in international undertakings in oil and gas, I do 

believe that corporate entities, and particularly those that are 

international, have some immense responsibility in dealing with 

the various countries that they deal with. 

I don’t wish to point to any one particular group. Just lump them 

all under big oil, and say that when they go into places, they have 

some responsibilities, too. If I could turn away from Azerbaijan for 

a moment and just Nigeria and the environmental degradation 

that has taken place there by virtue of oil exploration, then it signifies to me among other things that countries are not the only 

ones at fault, but international giants who deal with leadership at 

a given time do foster sometimes very bad situations. 

I was talking with my daughter last week about driving in from 

the airport to the President’s residence in Angola, and passing by 

a compound owned by an American company that was walled and 

watching people in swimming pools and on tennis courts, and then 

passing by. It was about a two-mile ride from the airport, and passing by people that were standing in pools of filth with no clothing 

on. 

That, to my way of thinking, leadership had a responsibility 

there, exercising our feelings about sovereignty, but so did those oil 

companies who were there have some responsibilities. I am not 

chastising Freedom House, but in the development of democracy, I 

think Ambassador Aliyev is absolutely correct. It takes time to do 

it and to maintain it and to preserve it. Azerbaijan can be on a 

positive track I think with organizations like Freedom House. 

I didn’t say to the Ambassador, and I will, that I want to know 

more about what happened with NDI. The successes for the country is not, and you put it so well, not so much just the NGOs, but 

for further development and democratization. What they do at 

great sacrifice is help countries to develop the institutions that ultimately we have an opportunity to see. 

35

One thing I would say, I have a limited amount of time as the 

agenda setter as Co-Chair, and then the emphasis shifts to the 

Senate and Senator Cardin will have the same prerogatives that I 

have had throughout the last year-and-a-half really. I didn’t have 

a full 2 years, but that year-and-a-half, as it were. I am hopeful 

that we have achieved some things, but I am also going to try to 

impress upon Senator Cardin, and as you know, Freedom House, 

in addition to having made a presentation there, I have called on 

you and other NGOs to give your input, to not just Azerbaijan, but 

all countries. 

Some emphasis needs to be placed on some other places. For example, I find it passing strange that we go monitoring everybody’s 

elections, and it wasn’t until 1994 that I was able to persuade the 

State Department to let people come and monitor ours. I would 

hope Azeri officials would come to the November elections after 

their October election, and see our successes and failures as well 

as we are in this work-in-progress called democracy. 

I would be hopeful next year that we would before having public 

hearings and briefings, have some roundtables with some experts 

like yourself, Mr. Walker, and others, that would allow for greater 

expression and frankness in a different setting for media offerings, 

and then come to others. If I said the 2004 elections, not the 1994 

elections, is what I should have been speaking of when I spoke 

about talking with Secretary Powell and ultimately his making the 

decision to allow our elections to be observed. 

There are so many things to be done and so many that can be 

done constructively. I hope this hearing falls on the ears of those 

who are not here, and the things that are said, that are taken in 

the form of constructive criticism, as opposed to bashing. I appreciate it very much. 

Mr. WALKER. Well, Mr. Chairman, Freedom House would welcome the opportunity to take part in those sorts of discussions, and 

also to hear feedback on our findings—where we got it right, where 

we got it wrong. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I think that is a healthy approach. I get a little 

bit tired of—the other thing that bothers me, and the wonderful 

people that work with me at the Commission, all of them don’t necessarily agree with me, and I understand that. I am not talking 

about the membership. That is true, too, but staff even—I just 

don’t enjoy having people with all of the expertise of people that 

have sat in this room today, and had to listen to us—I am talking 

about from our standpoint—and witnesses go through this exercise, 

and for them not to participate. 

Maybe time is always something that is a pressure, but I have 

found that I achieve a whole lot more in informal settings than I 

do in formal settings. 

Mr. WALKER. It is a wonderful idea. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I have been doing that since I was a judge, and 

I kind of like I am going to continue. That is my story and I am 

sticking to it. 

This one is adjourned. 

Mr. WALKER. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 5:10 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

36

APPENDICES

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our first hearing on Azerbaijan since May 2000. Earlier this year we held hearings after 

elections in Georgia and Armenia, where violence either preceded 

or followed the vote. We are not waiting until after Azerbaijan’s 

presidential election in October because Congress will probably go 

out of session for the year in September. Rather than wait until 

2009, I decided to proceed at this juncture. 

I would also like to point out—though I hardly think it is necessary—that the Helsinki Commission does not only scrutinize foreign countries. We also examine U.S. compliance. During this Congress, we have held two hearings on the status and treatment of 

detainees at Guantanamo, which took a very critical look at U.S. 

observance of human rights standards. Just last week, we held a 

briefing on the medical evidence of torture by U.S. personnel. 

One more thing: we do not intend today to focus on NagornoKarabakh. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried recently testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the so-called 

frozen conflicts. And at our hearing on Armenia, NagornoKarabakh received considerable attention from Deputy Assistant 

Secretary Matthew Bryza, who is directly charged with negotiating 

an end to that dispute. 

To turn now to the subject of our hearing—human rights and democratization in Azerbaijan—let me say, having been there several 

times, that I appreciate the importance of Baku’s strategic relationship with the United States. Azerbaijan has cooperated closely with 

the United States on anti-terrorism matters. As a producer of oil 

and gas which is transported to Western markets through Georgia, 

Azerbaijan plays a pivotal role in diversifying sources of energy. 

Still, there are serious human rights concerns in Azerbaijan. 

These have been laid out in the annual reports by the State Department and Freedom House. The Council of Europe, which Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia all joined in 2002, also issues regular 

reports on all three countries, focusing on human rights problems, 

and I commend them to your attention. 

Of particular concern is the situation of journalists. In December 

2007, Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of 

the Media, said more journalists were imprisoned in Azerbaijan 

than in any other OSCE member state. Later that month, President Aliev amnestied five journalists. Still, three remain in jail—

or four, depending whom you ask. 

The jailed journalists bring us to the issue of political prisoners. 

I introduced a resolution a year ago which focused on the case of 

Farhad Aliev and repression of journalists. While even Azerbaijani 

human rights groups disagree about who should be considered a 

political prisoner and how many there are, they do maintain there 

are people in jail for their political beliefs or activity. The Council 

37

of Europe has been wrestling with this problem for years and we 

intend to question our witnesses about it as well. 

Finally, an important presidential contest is coming up in October. I have a special interest in that topic, having headed the 

OSCE’s International Observation Mission for Azerbaijan’s parliamentary election in 2005. The OSCE’s Warsaw-based Office of 

Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has issued a pre-election report on conditions in Azerbaijan. I understand that Baku 

has not accepted several recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. 

I hope that decision will be reconsidered and that Azerbaijan’s 

October election will register clear progress over 2005. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on this and the other issues 

under discussion today. 

———

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

July 29, 2008. 

Hon. ALCEE HASTINGS, Chairman, 

U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 

234 Ford Office Building, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: As a co-sponsor of your Resolution on the 

human rights situation in Azerbaijan, I want to thank you for holding today’s hearing on Human Rights and Democratization in Azerbaijan. 

I support a strong bilateral relationship between the United 

States and Azerbaijan and resolving the human rights cases there 

would only further strengthen our relationship. The conduct of free 

and open elections is also critical, and I know the Commission will 

be closely monitoring the presidential elections this October. 

I look forward to continuing to work with you to promote democracy and human rights in OSCE member states. 

Sincerely, 

JOHN A. BOEHNER, Republican Leader.

38

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN 

EUROPE 

Mr. Chairman and fellow Commissioners, I am pleased to participate in this important hearing today on the situation in Azerbaijan. As a Senate Commissioner, and as member of the Senate 

Committees on Intelligence and Armed Services, I know how important his part of the world is to our strategic interests and to the 

region. And we value Azerbaijan’s participation in the war on terror and in energy security and transportation. 

But I also know the world will be watching this October when 

Azerbaijan holds it Presidential elections. Because Azerbaijan is a 

signatory to all the major international human rights agreements, 

including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 

(OSCE), and the Council of Europe, this election is an opportunity 

for the government to show the rest of the world that it can live 

up to these commitments. 

The Helsinki Commission performs a valuable function in monitoring fundamental freedoms, such as democracy and the rule of 

law, free and fair elections and the protection of human rights. The 

documents declare that commitments undertaken in this human dimension are of direct and legitimate concern to all participating 

states. 

I am concerned there appears to be a number of human rights 

issues identified by the U.S. government, the Council of Europe 

and NGOs. According to the State Department, this has involved 

repression of independent journalists, the arbitrary arrest and detention of political opponents, and lengthy pretrial detention. 

One case, in particular, is that of former Minister of Economic 

Development, Farhad Aliyev, and his brother, Rafiq, the former 

President of Azpetrol Oil Company. They were arrested during the 

parliamentary election campaign in October 2005: Farhad—on 

charges of plotting a coup d’etat. After being held in pretrial detention for 18 months, they were tried and convicted of unrelated economic crimes. Observers noted that the 5 month trial was marked 

by irregularities and lack of due process. I understand the state 

owned oil company took control of Azpetrol the day after the brothers were arrested. 

During the trial, Minister Aliyev told the Court on May 15, 2007, 

that the coup charges were just a pretext and that the government 

came up with certain ‘‘bizarre demands’’ including an admission 

that he ‘‘intended to carry out the ‘orange revolution’ incited by the 

US, British and German governments. He also stated that they requested $100 million dollars for him to be released. I ask unanimous consent that the text of his 2 court statements be included 

in the hearing record [Statement 1, Statement 2].*

[* Editor’s note. The statements referred to may be found on 

pages 39 and 40.] 

The State Department Human Rights Report for 2007 had this 

to say: ‘‘Some considered the 2005 arrests of individuals on charges 

of plotting a coup and subsequently corruption to be politically motivated.’’ I understand that the Aliyevs were held in isolation without meeting or talking to his family for 2 years, although this just 

recently changed. 

39

Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge Azerbaijan resolve this and other 

cases as soon as possible. 

[The statements referred to follow:] 

STATEMENT OF FARHAD ALIYEV 

Dear court participants, 

I certainly uphold the application of my defence to halt the proceedings of this criminal case and I subscribe to everything they 

said. The issues related to the conduct of the investigation, the injustice committed against me, partiality of the investigation and 

smear campaign launched against me have been clarified. My innocence and the absurdity of charges I am facing were sufficiently 

substantiated. 

While the defence spoke out mostly about legal aspects of the 

criminal case and events around it, I would like to touch upon the 

factual side and request that my thoughts are taken into account 

while considering this application. 

Before I begin my statement, for the support and sympathy that 

I have received at difficult time in detention, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to: • The representatives of media, human rights activists, members 

of Parliament, politicians, western countries’ government officials 

and parliament members, especially the members of the US Congress and Senate. • The leadership of the European Union, OSCE and the Council 

of Europe, members of the Parliamentary Assembly and PACE’s corapporteurs on Azerbaijan. • Doctors who provided me with a medical care and the Red 

Cross Committee which has been constantly monitoring the state 

of my health. 

and also thank my relatives and supporters for their relentless 

moral support. 

I assure you that we all will soon witness the triumph of justice. 

As it’s known, in the afternoon of the 19th of October 2005 two 

deputies of the Minister of National Security came to my office and 

accompanied me to their Ministry. After 8 hours of waiting in different offices, at 10 o’clock in the evening I was taken into custody 

for an alleged coup d’etat attempt and preparation of massive unrest. Although officially I was detained as a suspect, the charges 

were announced to me on the same day. 

I didn’t know that the final decision against me had been already 

made. Since I had never committed anything beyond the limits of 

law, I ruled out the possibility of criminal proceedings against me. 

Even the officials of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of National Security knew that I had not committed any 

crime. Shortly after that, I testified that I had never been in contact with Rasul Guliyev and that I met with Fikret Yusifov only 

to discuss his everyday problems. It was also revealed to the investigation that we didn’t even discuss the political power, let alone 

the coup d’etat. 

Fikret Yusifov also testified to the investigation that a coup was 

not planned. 

Despite all that, the charges against me were put forward and 

the judge, who was invited to the Ministry of National Security, in 

40

the investigator’s room, read out the decision of the court regarding 

my arrest. 

Apparently, the aim was not to check the suspicion or to ascertain whether or not the coup was actually planned, but rather to 

isolate me from the society. 

It’s clear that the main reason behind this were my activities and 

policies that I pursued. Can the strive for poverty reduction, opening of work places, improvement of the life of people, development 

of entrepreneurship, strengthening of domestic production, fight 

against monopolies and corruption as well as the statement that 

the future of Azerbaijan is not connected with Russia, but with the 

integration with the West and open advocacy of these, be construed 

as a coup d’etat? 

Today I am aware of the reason behind my arrest and I know 

those who ordered, organized and executed it and what links them. 

It is not about coup d’etat. It is just a pretext. It must be clear. 

Having realized that their. plans had failed, they came up with 

some bizarre demands. What were those demands? 

1. To admit that the money that I lent to Fikret Yusifov was 

meant to reach Rasul Guliyev and used to organize the coup. 

2. To admit that I intended to carry out the ‘‘orange revolution’’ 

and that the officials of US, British and German governments and 

their respective ambassadors in Azerbaijan have incited me to do 

so. 

3. To apologize to the president and appeal for his pardon. 

4. Then to agree to pay 100 million dollars to be released. 

However, as any honorable person I adamantly refused their demands. Exactly for this reason, I and all these innocent people sitting here are still behind bars. 

My arrest was politically motivated. The fabricated criminal case 

launched against me was the result of political arrangement. Unlawful actions during the investigation were also the result of it. 

Despite being arrested under the pretext of coup d’etat and because 

these accusations had failed, today those, sinking deeply into the 

corruption, are trying to accuse me in corruption. I demand to hold 

an inquiry into the coup attempt, not into these vague, preposterous and fabricated charges. 

For the last 19 months I have been subjected to all kinds of 

threats. For the sake of justice, our traditions and moral values I 

have tolerated everything. But they didn’t appreciate my tolerance. 

I appeal to the decision makers today to put an end to such injustice. 

Baku, May 15, 2007

Farhad Aliyev 

———

FINAL SPEECH OF FARHAD ALIYEV AT THE COURT OF GRAVE 

CRIMES OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN 

Just like the primary investigation, the trial process, which is 

coming to an end, has been conducted upon political orders and 

therefore, the truth was not revealed. 

41

That’s why, regardless of what verdict will be made on my case, 

I would like to once again touch upon important points concerning 

the reasons, plotters and implementers of my arrest. 

Two years ago, when leader of the ministry that implements economic policy of the country was suddenly arrested with coup d’etat 

charges, the society was shocked. But shortly, everything became 

clear. 

As a minister, I struggled against monopolies and corruption, 

which are the main reasons of increasing prices, I worked to eliminate shadow economy and reduce poverty, and I openly made statements calling for integration of Azerbaijan to the West. All this 

was contrary to the interests of those who administer this country, 

and that’s why, the higher political leadership accused me of a coup 

d’etat and made a decision on my arrest. 

As the investigation bodies, which could not prove this fabricated 

accusation, were ordered to keep me in arrest for a long period, 

they accused me of multiple crimes related with my official position 

without showing any evidence, and fabricated new and even more 

absurd charges. I have previously stated many times that my arrest was not connected with the charges against me, but with my 

activity and statements. I repeat it once again today and want to 

explain details with all accuracy. 

While estimating revenues and expenditures of the state budget, 

we determined that due to the existing monopolies and shadow 

economy in the country, at least, 3 billion dollars are evaded from 

the state budget and misappropriated through customs and taxation bodies. 

Resources of the budget are not used efficiently; about 1 billion 

dollars that were supposed to be allocated to teachers, doctors, pensioners, handicapped and other low income segments of the population were misappropriated by high-ranking officials under the 

pretext of investment projects and construction works. 

I have implemented broad range of activities in order to fight 

poverty and unemployment, and prevent monopolists from artificially increasing prices of imported products. Apart from artificially 

monopolists in the field of imported products, there are also natural monopolists in the country. They are mainly in the energy sector. They always tried to increase the prices of electricity, oil products and gas under the pretext of high costs. 

These prices were regulated by the Tariff Council. 

As the Chairman of the Tariff Council, I avoided increasing of 

prices. The monopolists, in turn, increased the amount of electricity 

and gas sold to the population on paper, thus ‘‘produced’’ and misappropriated 300 million dollars annually. In reality, the population did not get this amount of gas and electricity. Moreover, they 

also misappropriated the amount of money required to spend on 

black oil and natural gas to produce that much electricity. 

All these were found out during the monitoring conducted by us. 

We released official information on the results of the monitoring. 

As the results of our monitoring were not liked, the authority to 

conduct monitoring was taken from the Ministry of Economic Development and given to the Ministry of Fuel and Energy. 

Despite all the pressures, as the Chairman of Tariff Council, I always avoided increasing prices, within the limits of my power. As 

42

it is known, after my arrest, the price of electricity was increased 

three times and the prices of gas and fuel—twice. 

Now the state has increased prices of its own electricity, gas and 

oil products, but does not allow entrepreneurs and farmers to increase the price of their products. They forcibly bring farmers to 

the agricultural fairs and force them to cell their products at a 

price that is lower than their costs. As such kind of approach 

harms the people I was always against such ideas. 

I really wanted to creation of an order in the field of energy, establishment of an energy management system at the level of international standards, and elimination of parallel and identical structures in this field. I was against concentration of the money evaded 

from budget in different funds, because the money was then misappropriated from those funds. I wanted elimination of these funds, 

so that all the money is channeled directly to the budget. In 2003–

2005, I submitted written proposals on these issues several times. 

Some of them were accepted by the President, some of them were 

not. I understand the reasons now. 

Most part of arable lands has been given to personal ownership 

of a small group of people by the heads local executive authorities 

and municipalities. To give some examples, fruit gardens in Quba 

and large territories in Absheron have been covered by fences. Sovkhozes (agricultural farms) were functioning in these territories before. These lands are fertile and arable lands. People used to work 

in these lands and support their families. But now these lands belong to 3–5 people and ordinary peasants have been deprived of the 

right to cultivate the1n. This was one of the reasons of unemployment and poverty. In other regions of the country the situation is 

even worse. I had submitted my written appeals on this issue long 

before my arrest, but still there is no result. 

It can be asked how one Ministry could do so much work. By regulation, the ministry had 120 functions. But here it is presented in 

such a way that as if Farhad Aliyev only was the minister of privatization. Only one of many departments of the ministry dealt 

with privatization. 

We had other, more important, works to do. One of the major 

tasks was related with the development of the private sector. The 

higher is the level of living of each citizen, the higher is the level 

of development of the country. That’s why, we tried to avoid illegal 

and irrelevant interferences in the work of the private sector, decrease the number of licenses required fro various types of economic activity, and allot credits for the development of the private 

sector. As a result of our work, the number of licenses required for 

entrepreneurial activity was decreased from 270 to 30; irrelevant 

interferences in the work of private sector were avoided. But high 

ranking state officials who were granting those licenses and who 

could conduct inspections at any time, did not want to accept this. 

As their earnings decreased, they chose me as the target. 

Everybody knows that Azerbaijan is an oil country. Despite this 

fact, only two percent of the labor force works in oil sector. 98 percent of the labor force works in non-oil sector and so, their living 

depends on non-oil sector. I wanted to convert the ‘‘black gold’’ to 

‘‘human gold’’. I was trying to divert the revenues coming from oil 

sector to improvement of living of the remaining 98 percent of popVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
43

ulation. I wanted to allot oil revenues to the development of regions, revitalization of the agricultural sector, as well as, to the implementation of projects that would have real effect on improvement of the citizens’ living. 

I was against Azerbaijan’s receiving high-interest credits from 

abroad. Is it logical that Azerbaijan’s resources are put in foreign 

banks with 1% interest rate, but Azerbaijan receives credits from 

abroad with 6% interest rate? I was against all this. 

At the same time, I was trying to create healthy competition atmosphere in various fields of economy and attract investments 

from the private sector. Did I want to plot a coup d’etat with these 

activities? — Of course, no. I worked for the progress of the state, 

but at the end my activities were names ‘‘coup d’etat’’. 

I know that the charges against me are absurd. ‘‘There is no 

need for a guide if you already see the mountain’’. Everybody 

knows who plotted my arrest and why. It is said in one of the 

charges that I allegedly received 300 dollars bribe for giving a license to a company. I have signed large investment projects and 

programs that amounted hundreds of millions dollars. I could have 

easily misappropriated millions of dollars during this process. Or, 

let’s take the issue related with ‘‘Azerfon’’ company, which my lawyer mentioned yesterday. What I only was not offered in exchange 

to giving 51 percent of this company to a foreign firm? I knew who 

were behind the people making these offers and could have easily 

agreed. But I refused all the offers and kept not less than 51 percent of the shares in the hands of the state of Azerbaijan. However, 

at the moment, only 10 percent of the shares of that company belong to Azerbaijan; those who once had offered me bribes now own 

90 percent of the company. Now, you can clearly see who took 

bribes and sold interests of the state, who is the betrayer and coup 

plotter. 

Probably, everybody knows about the trial process related with 

‘‘Tiger’’ vessel that has been going on in Africa since 1992. Despite 

the fact that the Azerbaijan government was ready to pay millions 

of dollars in fine, I managed to win the trial and thus saved 144 

million dollars for Azerbaijan. But the government ‘‘rewarded’’ me 

by arresting me. 

My lawyers have proved that the charges against me are fictitious. I would also touch upon some points. 50 thousand objects in 

the country have been privatized in accordance with the same rule. 

By logic, if privatization of one of them is considered wrong, then 

privatization of all others should also be considered wrong. Why do 

you choose only 162 of these 50 thousand objects and value them 

in accordance with current market prices? Where is that market? 

Was any one of these 50 thousand objects privatized in accordance 

with current market prices? — Of course, no. 

The revenue of the state budget from privatization of all land 

areas in Azerbaijan was only 15 million dollars. But the accusing 

side values one piece of land at 18 million dollars and argues that 

I misappropriated this money. The owner of the land, however, 

states that he did not pay this much money and that the land belongs only to him. 

44

Isn’t the law same for all? It is. Such a distortion of the law is 

aimed at accusing me and other people arrested under various pretexts with something. 

For 2 years they have been announcing to the world that they 

had caught an organized criminal group. Where is that group? 

What has it done? I was working in the same building with the 

Cabinet of Ministers—just 30 meters away from the President’s Office. How come, anybody did not find out existence of this ‘‘organized group’’ during 7 years? It can be derived from the charges 

that from the date of my appointment as minister we created an 

‘‘organized group’’ and started to commit crimes. The President appointed me to the post of minister. Then, it appears that it was the 

President who created the ‘‘organized criminal group’’. Similarly, 

four of the members of this ‘‘organized group’’ were appointed to 

the Collegium of the Ministry by the Prime Minister. Then Prime 

Minister also participated in the creation of this ‘‘organized group’’. 

There was no such group; all this is fabrication of the investigation 

side. 

They accuse us of misappropriating properties in the value of 53 

million manats [Manat—Azerbaijan currency. 1 US dollar equals to 

0.85 manat approximately]. During the period of my arrest, they 

took over a large part of those properties, worth 40 million manats. 

If they were mine, where are they? Why my consent was not 

asked? 

All this is untrue—neither I nor other accused persons here misappropriated anything. Police conducted search in the homes of all 

these persons, If these people misappropriated millions of dollars 

as the investigation argues, then during the police search, at least, 

10–15 thousand dollars would be found in their homes. Or they 

would own some other houses, property, objects. If anything was 

found out during police search or investigation, please reveal to the 

public. There is nothing and there couldn’t be anything. 

I can also give some examples. For example, the property located 

in Ingilas Street, 999th quarter. The owners of that property are 

a group of handicapped people. They told to the court that due to 

the lack of funding for medical treatment, they have sold that property and spent the money for their treatment. 

Another example, the property located in the address: 81, 

Neftchilar Avenue (Azadliq Square). Investigation argues that it 

was a historical building and thus could not be privatized, but they 

say, I privatized and appropriated it. The investigation put arrest 

[i.e. froze transactions] on that building. Where is this property 

that allegedly belonged to me? — It has been demolished. But I 

was not asked. How come, a historical building cannot be 

privatized, but can be demolished? How about the decision about 

arrest on that building? Thus, it appears that properties worth of 

40 million manats have been taken over from citizens without any 

court decision. I don’t want to talk about other properties that have 

been illegally taken over during my arrest. I will give this information in during the next levels of court trials. 

The allegations about my using ‘‘discrete’’ authorities and not 

proposing to change values of the privatized state properties are 

also untrue. Two and a half years ago, in July 2005, I sent my proposals on this issue to the Cabinet of Ministers. But up until today, 

45

the prices have not been changed. So, who is guilty now? They are 

arguing that in 2000, I did not value properties contrarily to the 

law. These are all untrue. 

Why didn’t the investigators check privatization of any big enterprises in the country? — Because the owner of those enterprises is 

the political plotter of my arrest. The main large enterprises are 

concentrated in the hands of 5–10 people. Probably, you are aware 

of the fact that businessmen were massively arrested after my arrest. There were very few people who had something; but their 

properties were also taken over forcibly and through intimidation. 

According to allegations: in Astara district somebody privatized 

a land section and paid to the state 50 manats less; another person 

in Dashkasan district bought a small commercial kiosk and paid 

the state 10 manats less; a third person privatized equipment in 

the cafeteria of Yasamal District Local Executive Authority and I 

wasted ladles and pots—What a fabrication is this? 

My illegal arrest was also related with global factors. Back in 

July 2005, I openly stated in the media: ‘‘Russia is Azerbaijan’s 

past; the West is its future’’. This created anger in many people. 

In October 2005, Rushaylo, Lebedev and Patrushev [Russian officials] came to Baku with large delegations and conducted broad 

discussions. They persuaded the President that should be arrested. 

I was betrayed. Since then our ways separated. Yes, betrayal is a 

very bad and unacceptable thing . . . 

Look what inhuman treatment I have faced during the past two 

years. I was threatened with death. They questioned me as a suspect in the murder of journalist Elmar Huseynov. I was 

blackmailed. High ranking officials of the country spread information through media about my connection in the murder. I faced 

moral torture. Without any court decision, from the highest podiums, they called me a briber and a corrupt person. They said that 

no document was issued from the ministry without a bribe. Where 

are those documents? In which area was I a monopolist? Let them 

show it now. They can’t show, because it’s untrue. 

They spread allegations about me: as if I held secret talks with 

ambassadors of the Great Britain, United States, famous politicians and agents of secret services of Western countries, as well as, 

Mrs. Madeleine Albright. Yes, I did have a meeting with Mrs. 

Albright. But tens of people apart from me also participated in that 

meeting. I held all of my meetings in accordance with the state protocol. I did the work of the state and talked about my works in all 

meetings. Official information about these meetings has always 

been sent to the head of state and protocol service. 

A lot of rights of mine have been violated. My medical treatment 

was not permitted. Yesterday, we again appealed to the court and 

requested to provide medical treatment. No result. 

I would like to note another issue specifically. Alihuseyn Shaliyev 

died in a mysterious manner during the investigation. This person, 

who was arrested illegally, was tormented too much. He was a very 

valuable, professional and educated specialist in his field. He loved 

his people and his homeland very much. Nobody investigated his 

death. Nobody was charged for his death. God bless his soul. Other 

people sitting here have also been arrested because of me. None of 

46

them has any fault. I am ready to do anything to get these people 

released. 

My brother, Rafiq, did not say anything at the court today. What 

should he say? He knows that the decision will not be made in this 

court. I was arrested upon a political order and I am a prisoner of 

conscience. Both Rafiq and other accused persons sitting here know 

what will be the result of this court trial. 

They have put conditions before me to get released. Some of the 

accused persons sitting here confessed that they were ‘‘guilty’’. It 

is good if a person confesses what he has done. 

But the conditions they have put before me require me to confess 

what I have not done, what I am even unaware of. If I have had 

committed only one of those deeds, I would have confessed and 

honestly, would discuss with them their conditions. But why should 

I confess a crime that I have not committed, that is evil, and that 

is a slander? I have always preferred living one day with dignity 

to living a hundred years without it. 

During the period of my arrest, high ranking state officials 

spread slanders about me. But I will not go down to their level and 

answer each of them one by one. The time, which God bestowed to 

us, will show who betrayed whom. I once again state that the result of this trial case does not depend on this court. I think that 

I should have made this speech. Not saying these things would ignorance of and betrayal to my nation. That’s why I should have 

said these words. 

I am once again saying that my work and responsibility was to 

improve the welfare of my nation, to avoid the illegal actions of 

customs and taxation bodies, monopolies and state officials, as well 

as, to prevent poverty and unemployment. It is ridiculous that 

those who are sinking in the corruption swamp now are accusing 

me of corruption. 

One always looks for flies in the swamp. Did I create this 

swamp? 

One builds a nice house, another demolishes it. The first is remembered for the good deed, the second for demolishing this nice 

house. I wanted to build and I do not regret that I was arrested 

this. I do not regret about what I have done. I am proud that I did 

whatever I could do for my nation. 

Regardless of how hard they torture me, my honor is with me. 

I have never seen that anybody can win the truth or can be higher 

than the truth. My will is strong; my enthusiasm is high; my patience is endless. I will prove that I am innocent. 

I am grateful to all those who participated in this trial process 

and kept this trial in the center of their attention—to the representatives of the independent media, to the intelligentsia, local 

and foreign politicians who supported me, as well as, to the local 

and international human rights organizations. I assure them that 

they should not be disappointed; I will make their expectations 

come true and will continue my just struggle till the end. 

Farhad Aliyev 

4 October, 2007

47

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. THADDEUS G. McCOTTER (R–

11) A MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN 

Thank you, Chairman Hastings, for allowing me to participate in 

this important, and timely, hearing on Azerbaijan. My interest in 

the Caucasus region and Azerbaijan in particular, stems from my 

days on the Foreign Affairs Subcommittees on Europe and the Middle East and Central Asia. I know just how important the 

Caucasus are to regional stability and to counterterrorism and energy security. 

The Helsinki Commission and the Organization for Security and 

Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) process is so important in this region, particularly with respect to free elections, human rights and 

the rule of law. I was pleased to work with you in the development—and co-sponsorship—of House Resolution 183 dealing with 

the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. The Resolution highlighted a human rights case many in the international community 

believe was politically motivated from the beginning: the case of 

former Cabinet Minister, Farhad Aliyev, and his brother, Rafiq, 

former President of Azpetrol Oil Company.*

[* Editor’s note. The Resolution referred to may be found on p. 

48.] 

Farhad was a well regarded reformer who advocated more integration with the West. They were arrested during the October 2005 

parliamentary campaign; some 300 opposition activists and parliamentary candidates were also arrested. The original charges 

against Farhad alleged fomenting a coup. In his Application to the 

European Court of Human Rights, Farhad stated his brothers were 

also arrested, his wife was forced from her medical job, and her 

brother in law and uncle were arrested. They also rounded up his 

assistant and bodyguard. He testified at his trial authorities wanted him to admit he was part of an ‘‘orange revolution’’ incited by 

the US, Britain and Germany. 

The Resolution called for the Government of Azerbaijan to immediately release the Aliyevs during trial, to assure their right to a 

fair and open trial before an impartial tribunal will be carried out, 

and to comply with its international human rights commitments 

respecting the rule of law. It also calls on Azerbaijan to release imprisoned journalists and to prosecute individuals who attack journalists. 

Since the introduction of the Resolution a year ago, the Aliyevs 

have been tried, convicted and sentenced on unrelated financial 

charges after a 5 month show trial. The political nature of case is 

shown by Farhad’s sentence: 10 years in prison, confiscation of 

property, and deprivation of the right to hold key government positions for 5 years. 

The Resolution was intended to shed light on the human rights 

situation and the Aliyev case without making any claims of guilt 

or innocence. At the time, the Aliyevs were held in lengthy pre-trial 

detention in the isolation unit of the National Security Ministry, 

without family visitation or proper medical care, while the government mined through their personal and business records. Credible

48

observers raised serious concerns about irregularities and violations of OSCE Rule of Law commitments. I am very disappointed 

there has been no movement whatsoever to address the issues 

raised in the Resolution. 

Mr. Chairman, I would like to make the Resolution part of the 

hearing record. 

[The Resolution referred to follows:]


63897.001
49


63897.002
50


63897.003
51


63897.004
52


63897.005
53


63897.006
54


63897.007
55

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID J. KRAMER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN 

RIGHTS AND LABOR 

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission, thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. The Department and I greatly appreciate the dedication of Helsinki Commission members and their 

staff to the OSCE, its values, and its institutions. In both my capacities as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, 

Human Rights and Labor and as the State Department representative to the Commission, I look forward to continuing to work closely 

with you on the full range of important issues before the OSCE, including the upcoming Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 

(HDIM). 

You have asked me to speak about democracy and human rights 

in the run up to Azerbaijan’s October presidential election, following my June trip to the South Caucasus. If you will permit me, 

I will briefly discuss Armenia and Georgia, which I visited as well, 

before turning to Azerbaijan. The United States works with the 

OSCE, European Union, and Council of Europe to promote democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in Azerbaijan, 

Armenia, and Georgia. We will continue to closely consult with our 

European partners on ways to encourage all three South Caucasus 

countries, respecting their unique qualities, to take more vigorous 

steps to improve democratic governance and respect for human 

rights. 

ARMENIA 

While in Armenia, I met both with senior government officials 

and with opposition and civil society activists, including some of 

the wives of those detained in connection with the post-presidential 

election demonstration in March. I urged the authorities to release 

all individuals detained for engaging in opposition activities or for 

expressing their political views; conduct a credible, independent investigation into the March 1–2 violence that left ten dead; fully restore freedoms of assembly and media; and initiate a constructive 

dialogue with the opposition and civil society. 

Time is of the essence. Societal tensions will only increase if the 

authorities fail to take swift, dramatic, and substantive measures 

to heal the serious divisions in the country that the presidential 

election and its violent aftermath exacerbated. While all elements 

of society have an obligation to engage in constructive dialogue and 

to act responsibly, the heaviest responsibility lies with those who 

actually hold power—the government. 

It is in the interest of the U.S.-Armenia bilateral relationship 

and in the interest of the Armenian people to see the new government in Yerevan succeed in deepening Armenia’s democratic development. On a positive note, I found the Ombudsman to be playing 

an important role on behalf of democratic reform in the country. 

GEORGIA 

In Georgia, too, I met with a range of senior government officials 

as well as opposition and civil society activists, including the Ombudsman, who has been playing a leadership role in support of imVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
56

proved human rights observance and accountability for rights violations. I expressed concern about the lack of checks and balances 

among the branches of government, and urged the authorities to 

support robust democratic institutions including a strong, multiparty parliament and a fully independent judiciary. 

My message to the government included the need to make a 

maximum proactive effort to work with the opposition to foster a 

culture of respect for political pluralism. A policy-making process 

that includes consultations with experts and stakeholders including 

the opposition and civil society would be helpful. I expressed concerns about negative trends since last year regarding media freedom, and stressed the need to accelerate prison reform. 

It is in Georgia’s own interest and also in the interest of our already strong bilateral relationship to see democratic institutions 

take root in Georgia. I also urged opposition leaders to strengthen 

their outreach to Georgia’s citizens to explain their parties’ vision 

for strengthening democratic and market economic institutions. 

AZERBAIJAN 

Located between Russia’s troubled Northern Caucasus region 

and Iran, Azerbaijan is situated in a tough and strategically important neighborhood. If it enacts meaningful political reform, its location and abundant resources give it tremendous potential to serve 

as a model for aspiring democracies. 

We consider Azerbaijan a friend of the United States. We have 

major interests in Azerbaijan in three equally important areas: 

democratic and economic reform, energy diversification, and security cooperation. Our two countries enjoy strong cooperation on energy diversification, with Azerbaijan emerging as a potentially crucial supplier of diversified natural gas supplies for our European 

allies. On security, Azerbaijan has made important troop contributions to international efforts in Iraq and Kosovo, and provides an 

air corridor that is crucial to supporting U.S. and NATO operations 

in Afghanistan. Our relationship in both these areas has tremendous potential for even further growth. 

That said, our strongest relationships world-wide are with democracies that respect the full range of human rights of their citizens in addition to sharing interests with us. Fulfilling the great 

potential of our relationship with Azerbaijan should be no exception. We seek to bring our cooperation on democratization up to the 

level of our security and energy collaboration. Azerbaijan’s progress 

on democratic reform is key not only to the strengthening of our 

bilateral relationship, but also to Azerbaijan’s own long-term stability. 

In my meetings I focused on democracy and human rights concerns which are essential for the type of relationship I just outlined. I continued the high-level, results-oriented dialogue that my 

predecessor Barry Lowenkron and President Aliyev initiated in December 2006, following President Aliyev’s visit to Washington in 

April 2006. During that visit, President Aliyev stated, after meeting with President Bush: ‘‘We are grateful for the United States’ 

assistance in promotion of the political process, the process of democratization of our society, and are very committed to continuing 

57

this cooperation in the future.’’ I traveled to Azerbaijan with President Aliyev’s stated commitment in mind. 

In addition to my discussions with President Aliyev, Foreign 

Minister Mammadyarov and other government officials, I also met 

with a variety of non-governmental figures, including opposition 

and civil society figures, and independent journalists as well as 

journalism students. 

There is no denying that we have some serious concerns about 

the state of democracy and the protection of human rights in Azerbaijan, which in some areas has deteriorated. I was able to discuss 

these concerns in a candid but friendly and constructive manner 

with senior government officials. I addressed five key areas: political processes, with a focus on the October presidential election; 

media freedom; protection of human rights; rule of law, including 

combating corruption; and an empowered and educated civil society. In my meetings with senior officials, we discussed concrete 

steps that can be taken to accelerate democratic reform in order to 

build a democratic future for Azerbaijan’s citizens. In light of today’s focus on the situation in advance of the October election, I 

will highlight our concerns regarding the election and media freedom, and conclude with a few additional points. 

The Presidential Election 

As I stressed to senior Azerbaijani officials, the October presidential election presents an important opportunity for the government to demonstrate its commitment to democratic reform and free 

and fair elections by ensuring that the overall electoral process and 

election-day itself are observed by credible, independent elections 

monitors, both international and domestic. A key theme in my discussions was that the pre-election environment is as important, if 

not more important, to the integrity of the electoral process as is 

the conduct of election-day itself, including the vote count and regional and national tabulation. The pre-election environment must 

be conducive to a level playing field—particularly with respect to 

freedom to organize political parties, election campaigns, or interest groups; freedom of the media, assembly and association; voter 

registration; appointments to elections commissions; and election 

grievance processes. 

We are concerned that the political space for dissenting voices 

has been shrinking over the past few years. While some in the government have argued that the opposition’s weakness is due to a 

lack of new faces and ideas, the government bears ultimate responsibility for the climate within which political parties and candidates operate, and within which public debate takes place. In a 

welcoming environment, new people will have confidence that they 

can safely engage in politics and the open exchange of ideas. We 

urge the authorities to establish the conditions that would be conducive to a truly competitive election. 

A key factor in determining the credibility of the entire elections 

process, and for establishing broad confidence in the legitimacy of 

the outcome of the election, is serious domestic and international 

election monitoring. It is especially unfortunate that this spring Azerbaijani courts deregistered and annulled Azerbaijan’s largest 

independent domestic election monitoring NGO, the Election MoniVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
58

toring Center (EMC). I strongly urged my governmental interlocutors to restore the EMC’s ability to function in time for meaningful, 

independent election observation this October. The OSCE’s Office 

of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) should soon 

receive an invitation to monitor the election, and will send about 

30 long-term observers and 450 short-term observers. Likewise, the 

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has announced its intention to send 35–40 members as short-term observers. We also hope that the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) can observe the election. 

The June 23 joint OSCE/ODIHR-Venice Commission opinion on 

the amendments made this year to the Azerbaijani election code is 

a useful tool. We hope to see the authorities implement electionrelated laws in a way that expands, rather than constricts, the 

scope of citizens to exercise their rights. 

A word about what U.S. election assistance is and is not: As I 

made clear to my Azerbaijani interlocutors, America’s interest in 

elections worldwide is that they be free and fair. We do not provide 

assistance in order to direct, influence, or dictate outcomes. Our 

programmatic assistance is non-partisan and our aim is to help create an elections environment conducive to a competitive, free and 

fair elections process. We also seek to strengthen democratic political culture and democratic institutions. That is our approach in 

Azerbaijan as it is in many other countries around the world. 

Media Freedom 

A significant and growing U.S. concern in recent years is the deterioration of media freedom in Azerbaijan. Administrative and 

other obstacles to the functioning of independent media make it extremely difficult for the public to have access to a variety of views, 

including those which may be critical. 

Although seven journalists were released in 2007, which we welcomed, three remain in prison for reasons that appear politically 

motivated. Another journalist is imprisoned despite severe violations of due process during his trial. In addition, the government 

has yet to seriously investigate numerous cases of violence against 

journalists. There has been no accountability for the 2005 murder 

of Elmar Huseynov. I urged senior officials to release the remaining jailed journalists and ensure rigorous and transparent investigations of acts of physical violence against journalists such as 

Agil Khalil and media monitor Emin Huseynov. Rigorous and 

transparent investigations would be a powerful sign of the government’s commitment to media freedom and rule of law, as would 

public condemnation by senior Azerbaijani officials of violence 

against and intimidation and harassment of journalists. The decriminalization of libel would also be a strong signal that the government respects open debate. I was pleased to learn that, since 

my visit, the Azerbaijani government has decided to allow Agil 

Khalil to travel outside of Azerbaijan, and he is now in France. 

I also made it clear that the unresolved conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh is not a valid reason 

for either country to avoid respecting media freedom or engaging 

in other essential components of democratization. To the contrary, 

59

the conflict only heightens the importance of a serious discussion 

on both sides of how to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict. 

U.S. assistance to support the development of independent media 

in Azerbaijan includes funding for the professional development of 

journalists, advocacy for media rights, Internet access, and capacity 

building to make media financially self-sustaining. 

Some additional human rights concerns for Azerbaijan include: 

Political Prisoners: As noted in the Department’s human rights 

report for Azerbaijan, local human rights NGOs maintain that the 

government continues to hold political prisoners. NGO activists 

currently estimate that the government holds between 33 and 57 

political prisoners. The release earlier this year of two individuals 

considered by human rights monitors to be political prisoners was 

positive. We support the Council of Europe’s efforts to resolve this 

problem; institutional reform of the justice system also could help. 

Abuses by Security Forces: The constitution and criminal code 

prohibit torture and provide for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for officials who violate the law. Torture, and the lack of 

accountability for it, and the excessive use of force against peaceful 

demonstrators or detainees, remain serious problems. 

Rule of Law and Corruption: Unchecked corruption can destroy 

a government’s ability to govern effectively and to retain citizens’ 

confidence. In the midst of Azerbaijan’s oil boom, which creates, at 

least in the near term, highly visible disparities in wealth between 

a small elite and the bulk of society, it is all the more important 

for the government to act with determination and complete transparency to root out corruption. Above all, pervasive corruption in 

the judiciary and law enforcement community must be eradicated. 

Promoting the rule of law—including an independent judiciary that 

respects due process—remains among our highest diplomatic objectives for Azerbaijan and neighboring countries in the South 

Caucasus. 

In closing, I appreciate the frank and constructive meetings I 

had with President Aliyev, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov, and 

others, and their generosity with their time. The U.S. approaches 

this dialogue as a friend of Azerbaijan. Friendship means not being 

indifferent to the circumstances of a friend. At the same time, 

being able to discuss matters of disagreement in a proper yet candid way is part of the nature of a serious dialogue. And concrete 

results in terms of improved respect for human rights clearly will 

serve to deepen our bilateral relationship. I look forward to working with our friends in Azerbaijan—both in and out of government—to help them implement the kinds of democracy and human 

rights reforms that the citizens of Azerbaijan seek and deserve. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

60

PREPARED STATEMENT OF H.E. YASHAR ALIYEV, AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN TO THE UNITED 

STATES 

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission: 

Thank you for the opportunity to address this distinguished 

Commission on two priorities for my country: human rights and democratization. We made our decision 17 years ago, upon regaining 

our independence, to pursue policies of a pro-Western, democratic 

country with a free market economy. 

We are a secular country with a predominantly Muslim population, where you can find our citizens attending Catholic Church, 

a synagogue and a mosque within blocks of each other in Baku. 

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by our Constitution. We are immensely proud of our long history of religious tolerance. Azerbaijan 

has vibrant Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities. We are indeed a melting pot of cultures, religions, traditions and ideas. Just 

this past March, for example, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal 

Bertoni visited Azerbaijan where he reopened a Catholic Church in 

downtown Baku that had been closed for decades under communist 

rule. 

Located at the crossroads of two great continents, Europe and 

Asia, we have always encouraged diversity and have been a bridge 

between cultures. We are situated in an important region of challenging political dynamics, with Russia to the north, Iran to the 

south, Armenia and Georgia to the west, and our backs against the 

Caspian Sea. 

I am honored to have served for almost two years as Ambassador 

to the United States and to have observed your own democracy in 

action during a critical period in America’s history as you approach 

a presidential election. I have had the opportunity to watch firsthand your own presidential election process. I have learned how 

unique to the domestic culture and realities democracy really is. 

Understanding the challenges of building a new democracy, I appreciate former Congressman and Chairman Yin Weber’s opening 

statement about the United States in the recent 2007 annual report of the National Endowment for Democracy. He said about the 

United States, and I quote, ‘‘In our country, with its long tradition 

of self-government, we tend to forget how difficult democracy is to 

create and sustain.’’

As you know, Azerbaijan has emerged from the turbulent years 

following the dissolution of the Soviet Union to become a strong 

friend and ally of the United States, and to the international community as a whole. The country is a member of the United Nations, 

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the 

Council of Europe. It is on a path toward World Trade Organization membership and is an active participant in NATO’s Partnership for Peace. 

As both a producing and transit country for Caspian oil and gas, 

Azerbaijan has become a major player in ensuring energy security 

to Europe and the West. In fact, just last week, Georgian President 

Mikhail Saakashvili stated without ambiguity that Azerbaijan is a 

key guarantor of his country’s independence by providing muchneeded energy supplies. 

61

Azerbaijan is also a staunch ally of the U.S. and international 

partners in security operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not only 

does Azerbaijan provide troops to NATO and Coalition forces in 

these countries, it also has granted permission for U.S. airplanes 

to use Azerbaijan’s vital airspace for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. 

Of course, as you are well aware, Azerbaijan faces grave problems concerning the Armenia Azerbaijan conflict, which continues 

to result in the illegal occupation by Armenian military forces of 

some 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory. Azerbaijan’s territorial 

integrity has been affirmed and reaffirmed numerous times in past 

years by the United States government. It has also been reaffirmed 

no fewer than five times by the United Nations, the most recent 

of which took place on March 14 of this year with a resolution calling for the ‘‘immediate, complete, and unconditional’’ withdrawal of 

Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani lands. 

This conflict has many ramifications, the most pressing of which 

is the continued displacement of up to one million Azerbaijanis 

from their homelands. In resolution 1614 just this past June 24, 

the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe this year 

stated that, and I quote, ‘‘The Assembly considers that sustainable 

democratic development will be extremely difficult in Azerbaijan as 

long as the country’s territorial integrity has not been restored.’’

We seek input from you, the Helsinki Commission, and other respected members of the international community to help us solve 

this issue without delay. Indeed, when we address the issue of 

human rights in Azerbaijan, we must begin by restoring the human 

rights of almost one million refugees and displaced persons who, as 

we sit here today, are deprived of their right to live in peace and 

happiness in their homeland. 

It is an honor to appear before you today to provide insight into 

the Republic of Azerbaijan’s advances in democracy and human 

rights. While no democracy can ever claim to be perfect, we know 

what we have achieved and that a lot is yet to be done, we know 

that building democracy is a process that is full of not only roses, 

and we understand the challenges ahead of us. We welcome your 

support, the benefit of your experience, your recommendations, and 

your understanding as we address the many challenges we confront 

together. 

Azerbaijan has taken major steps to establish and enhance democratic institutions: 

• Azerbaijan today has a robust media environment with more 

than 1,000 newspapers and magazines; 7 television stations covering the entire country; an additional 14 local television stations; 

11 radio stations; and 30 news agencies; 44 electronic mass media 

outlets; 

• The country has seen a virtual explosion of web sites, blogs 

and access to the Internet across the country. Internet traffic in 

Azerbaijan has increased an astonishing 40 percent thus far this 

year compared to last year. All this, in a country the size of the 

state of Maine. 

• The new Azerbaijan brings with it a new set of needs and 

higher professional standards of journalism. The United States has 

been working with Azerbaijan to help improve these standards, and 

62

more is needed. I ask the members of this distinguished Commission to consider practical ways in which we can work together to 

better train a new generation of journalists to meet the professional challenges of the 21st century. • Azerbaijan enjoys strong political pluralism. There are 52 political parties in the country, 20 of them are currently represented in 

Milli Mejlis -Parliament. • In October 2008, Azerbaijan will hold its fifth presidential election in 17 years. It also has conducted three parliamentary elections and two municipal elections. All of these have been held on 

schedule according to the electoral timetable. All of these were 

open to international observers, as this year’s presidential election 

will be. 30 long term and 450 short-term international observers 

from OSCE will observe the election. • Improving our electoral practices to meet international standards has been a priority. In this regard, we have instituted and 

amended the electoral code. Examples include: 

Implemented the practice of inking voters’ fingers 

Declared election day a non-working day to allow all citizens 

the opportunity to vote 

Established that expert groups involved in the complaints 

and appeals process will be present at constituency commissions 

Facilitated voting by persons in detention (Amendment 46.9) 

Reduced the number of required signatures (45,000 to 

40,000) for the registration of a Presidential candidate 

Mandated that election observers be provided identification 

badges, thereby reducing the number of unauthorized persons 

in polling stations. (Article 36.6) 

Required verification badges for registered agents of candidates, political parties, and political parties. (Article 72.2) 

Required disclosure of voter addresses in public voter lists 

(Article 48.1) 

Just last month, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission gave 

a positive assessment of these changes to the election code. 

Azerbaijan has created the position of Ombudsman to hear concerns from its citizens and to carry those concerns both to the Government and to the European Court of Human Rights. It is important to note that just this past June 18, Azerbaijan commemorated 

its first ever National Day of Human Rights. 

In our democratic process we understand the importance of facilitating the development of a critical pillar—civil society. Some 3,500 

Azerbaijani and international NGOs have been established in the 

country, providing a welcome pillar to the strengthening of civil society. In December 2007, the State Council for the Support of 

NGOs was established by Presidential decree. This council seeks to 

accelerate the further enhancement of civil society in the country. 

Eight of its members are nominated by NGO community, with the 

three remaining members nominated by public agencies. On June 

13 of this year, the Council announced in the press a competition 

for NGO projects in 15 areas, including human rights of refugees, 

women and youth. Submitted projects will be examined by a group 

of experts and selected by the end of July. This year $1.5 million 

will be allocated to these NGO projects. 

63

As far as maintaining the independence of the mass media, a 

Working Group created by the Azerbaijan Media Council has developed a Concept on State Support to Mass Media. This document 

helps to define financial assistance for the media, including credit 

allocation and debt reduction. This measure will soon be submitted 

to the President for consideration. 

The Commission has inquired about the detention of journalists. 

In accordance with a Presidential Pardon Decree of December 28, 

2007, five journalists were released from prison. 

A new draft law amending the Law on Freedom of Assembly, 

currently in force in Azerbaijan, was elaborated in close cooperation with experts from the Council of Europe Venice Commission 

and OSCE/ODIHR. On December 15, 2007, the Venice Commission 

provided a final opinion stating that if adopted, they will be in accordance with European standards. The Law with amendments 

was adopted just two months ago on May 30, 2008 by the Parliament and has been praised by Council of Europe representatives. 

According to the amendments, organizers have to inform the relevant administrative body about the place and time of the demonstration and also route of the rally 5 days before the demonstration. Freedom of Assembly only can be limited in cases envisaged 

by the law and for national or public security, preventing crime or 

disorders, protection of health and morality and rights of other persons. 

In the area of increasing transparency and combating corruption, 

Azerbaijan has achieved the following over the last few years, including: • Adopted the Law on Combating Corruption on January 13, 

2004. • Secured Presidential approval of the State Program on combating corruption on September 3, 2004. • The Anti-Corruption Commission started to function at the 

Public Service Management Board. • Established Department for Combating Corruption, within the 

Prosecutor General’s Office. 

• On June 28, 2007, the President issued the order endorsing the 

National Strategy on strengthening transparency and combating 

corruption and the Action Plan for its implementation for 2007–

2011. 

The National Strategy recommends the following measures: 

Improvement of legislation, law enforcement and courts; 

Closer cooperation with civil society; 

Advancement of anti-corruption culture; 

Enhancement of the anti-corruption work of governmental 

institutions. 

Additionally, Azerbaijan has created a Commission on Combating 

Corruption, which is part of the State Council on the Management 

of Civil Service. This Commission functions as a specialized agency 

on combating corruption. It is comprised of 15 members: five appointed by the President, five by the Parliament and five by the 

Constitutional Court. 

We attach great importance to ensuring women’s political and 

economic rights and providing them with adequate representation 

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dent signed the Decree ‘‘On Implementation of the National Gender 

Policy in the Republic of Azerbaijan’’. For the past years, the number of women in political and decision-making has considerably increased. It is worth mentioning that, Azerbaijani women gained 

electoral rights long before most developed countries of the world 

that is, in 1918. Today female parliamentarians represent 11.2% in 

Parliament. 

Three deputy Ministers (of Education, of Economic Development 

and of Culture), one Chairperson of the State Committee (State 

Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, one Chairperson of the State Commission (State Commission on Admission 

of Students) are women. Besides, one deputy of the chairman of the 

National Parliament out of three, Ombudsperson, deputy Prime 

Minister of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and 

Ombudsperson of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are women. 

The total percentage of women working in the Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan is 19, 4%, from which 5, 1% 

are women occupying leading positions. Two diplomat women are 

representing Azerbaijan on the international level (one ambassador 

and one permanent representative). Nowadays, women are widely 

represented in business sectors. The number of women engaged in 

entrepreneurship activities has increased by 6,2% (79147 persons) 

in 2008. 

Azerbaijan, appreciating the importance of intercultural and 

interreligious dialogue and tolerance, has embarked on a series of 

important events intended to further this dialogue and to establish 

future goals and agendas. In 2007, a conference on ‘‘The Role of 

Media in Promoting Tolerance’’ was held in Azerbaijan, which attracted attendees and observers from 11 international organizations and 49 countries. 

Just recently, in June Baku hosted a major forum on the ‘‘Role 

of Women in Intercultural Dialogue’’ under the auspices of the 

First Lady of Azerbaijan. Participants included the First Ladies of 

Latvia, Poland, Angola, South Africa as well as spouses of VicePresident of Argentina, of Prime -Minister of Turkey, the First 

Lady of the State of Texas. On December 2–3, 2008 Baku will host 

a Conference of the European Ministers of Culture with representatives from the Council of Europe, Islamic Educational, Scientific 

and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), and Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), which 

will focus on the role of intercultural dialogue as a vehicle for 

peace. 

Mr. Chairman, 

Azerbaijan welcomes the attention the United States has given 

to democratic issues in the country and to the South Caucasus as 

a region. We in the South Caucasus have faced numerous challenges. One neighboring country faced unprecedented post-election 

violence in which innocent civilians were killed and a ban on independent media was imposed. Another neighboring country enacted 

martial law and shut down media outlets. 

We’ve all passed through difficult times. But we have all been 

heartened by the friendship and support of the United States and 

its people. 

Mr. Chairman, 

65

Democracy requires constant nurturing and attention. Its establishment brings many challenges. I am confident that the United 

States, which has led valiant efforts to bring peace and democracy 

to volatile regions of the world in recent years, understands these 

difficulties very well. 

Azerbaijan cherishes its friendship with the United States, as I 

am sure the United States does with us. As friends, we celebrate 

one another’s successes. As friends, we are allowed to disagree from 

time to time, and to point out one another’s shortcomings. And as 

friends, all that we require is that we treat one another with the 

same level of fairness that we give to others. 

As you are aware, Azerbaijan often suffers from spurious campaigns that deliberately mislead and misinform the American public. As the great American essayist E.B. White famously remarked, 

and I quote: ‘‘Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.’’

In summary, Mr. Chairman, we are a young democracy. We seek 

to move forward and to distinguish ourselves in several areas—

leadership of women; religious freedom; economic opportunity and 

growth. We also recognize certain needs for improvement and we 

will continue to make progress in these areas. 

We remain committed to the principles of democracy and freedom. We are building such a society not for the international community, but for our own citizens, our own nation, and our own 

prosperous and peaceful future. 

Thank you for this opportunity to address these important issues 

with you today. 

I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

66

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER WALKER, 

DIRECTOR OF STUDIES, FREEDOM HOUSE 

Chairman Hastings, Co-chairman Cardin, other distinguished 

members of the Commission, thank you for inviting Freedom House 

to testify at today’s hearing and for the opportunity to provide comment on recent developments in Azerbaijan as the Azeri people approach their presidential election in October of this year. 

I am pleased to see His Excellency Ambassador Aliev here on the 

panel today and I am hopeful his schedule will permit him to remain and respond to my remarks, should he wish. 

Freedom House’s mission is to monitor and support democratic 

development; we take a keen interest in Azerbaijan’s democratic 

development and human rights performance and have monitored 

the country’s progress in these areas over the course of the past 

three decades. Today, Freedom House evaluates Azerbaijan in several of its analytical publications, including: our annual survey of 

political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World; the annual survey of global media independence, Freedom of the Press; 

and our annual survey of democratization in Central Europe and 

Eurasia, Nations in Transit. 

Azerbaijan is a predominantly Shia Muslim country of roughly 8 

million located in the pivotal trans-Caucasus region. To the east is 

the Caspian Sea, key to the region’s energy riches and a pathway 

to Central Asia. To the north lies Russia. To the south, Iran. To 

round out this challenging neighborhood, the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Armenia are to Azerbaijan’s west. NagornoKarabakh, over which Azerbaijan and Armenia remain embroiled 

in a territorial dispute, is one of the world’s most bitter ‘‘frozen’’ 

conflicts. And of course Azerbaijan is playing an important role in 

an increasingly complex energy environment. Azerbaijan is, without question, a strategically important country. 

Given Azerbaijan’s clear strategic importance, I would emphasize 

the following four points: 

One, Azerbaijan’s record on developing democratically accountable and transparent institutions is poor and, by our measures, getting worse. Azerbaijan is ranked ‘‘Not Free’’ both in our survey of 

political rights and civil liberties—and in our survey of global 

media freedom. 

Two, Azerbaijan’s authorities are not advancing crucial reform 

measures that will enable the country to manage its resource 

wealth effectively and ensure that over time the vast majority of 

Azeri citizens will benefit from this unprecedented public wealth. 

Three, the resource curse appears to be growing its roots. Findings released last month from our Nations in Transit analysis 

found that over the past decade Azerbaijan moved backward on 

every indicator in Nations in Transit. The regression has occurred 

systematically and across different sectors, affecting the spheres of 

electoral process, civil society, national governance, independent 

media, and judicial independence. Developments in Azerbaijan are 

part of a phenomenon that has also come into view in other resource-based states such as Kazakhstan and Russia. I would note 

that in these cases our data do not suggest that abundant energy 

resources transformed these countries into authoritarian systems. 

Instead, where transparency and accountability were already weak, 

67

the new wealth has served to propel and intensify authoritarian 

practices. 

Four, the authorities in Azerbaijan appear to have dropped even 

the pretense of enabling more accountable and transparent institutions. ‘‘Resource nationalism’’ has emerged as a guiding theme for 

the country’s leadership. 

I’ll return to the issues of the resource curse and resource nationalism but first would like to share with you observations on key 

issues from our analysis that we believe deserve particular attention, including Azerbaijan’s election process and media sector. 

I would note that Azerbaijan is a participating state of the 

OSCE, and is therefore obliged to fulfill its commitment to the rule 

of law and human rights standards established in several documents including the Copenhagen, Moscow and Budapest Documents of 1990, 1991 and 1994, respectively. In January 2001, Azerbaijan acceded to the Council of Europe. As a member of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan is obligated to bring its legislation into 

conformity with European standards. It is also a party to the European Convention of Human Rights, violations of which can be 

brought to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg 

after all domestic remedies have been exhausted. 

ELECTORAL PROCESS

Azerbaijan’s elections planned for this October represent an important opportunity for reform and for enabling wider participation 

in what is at present effectively a closed political system. The Parliamentary elections in 2005 and the reruns in 2006 were beset by 

irregularities and failed to meet a number of international standards. The intervening period has seen little meaningful reform of 

the electoral system while government pressure on the political opposition has continued unabated. A recent OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission Report issued on July 11, 2008 already pointed 

to a host of concerns, including that ‘‘the pre-election environment 

is not conducive to the free competition of political ideas and platforms, due to constraints on freedom of assembly and the media’’. 

The report added that ‘‘since the 2005 parliamentary elections, the 

electorate would appear to have more limited access to diverse political views’’. I would take this opportunity to call on the Azeri authorities to create conditions so that OSCE—and other outside organizations—can credibly monitor the October elections. 

The track record of recent elections and the prevailing conditions 

in Azerbaijan strongly suggest that a genuine contest for political 

power will be near impossible this fall. 

Azerbaijan’s constitution provides its citizens the right to change 

their government peacefully. However, in practice this right is effectively denied. Elections are used to preserve, not contest, power 

in Azerbaijan. Indeed, all of the elections conducted under the 

stewardship of former President Heidar Aliyev and, more recently 

under his son, Ilham Aliyev, have fallen short of international 

standards for democratic elections. The parliamentary elections 

held in November 2005 were no exception to this pattern. 

Since the 2005 parliamentary elections, the government has 

maintained its hegemony over the political sphere. The 125-member parliament is heavily dominated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan 

68

Party and pro-government ‘‘independents’’. In 2005, the two opposition blocs, Azadlig (Liberty) and Yeni Siyaset (New Politics, or 

YES) managed only eight and two mandates, respectively. Parliamentary sessions in 2007 were boycotted by the mainstream opposition parties, except for the Musavat Party of former parliamentary speaker, Isa Gambar. The government is extremely well-funded and firmly in control of mass media outlets. There are few, either in Azerbaijan or in the international community, who doubt 

that President Aliyev will be returned to office this October. 

The opposition leaders continue to criticize the lack of progress 

on democratic reform and in particular the government’s refusal to 

allow the opposition to have equal representation on electoral commissions as per the recommendations of the Council of Europe. 

There is some uncertainty about whether prominent opposition figures, such as Isa Gambar of the Musavat Party will decide to run 

against Aliyev or to boycott the election altogether. Unlike in past 

elections, no opposition rallies, either authorized or unauthorized, 

have been held, and there has been no talk of opposition consolidation. 

Apart from technical and administrative obstacles found in the 

election process, the authorities also employ more brutal tactics in 

managing political competition. In the lead up to the 2005 elections 

the main opposition bloc (Azadliq) faced a heavy-handed campaign 

from state media, as well as arrests, beatings and intimidation by 

the authorities. Since then, government pressure on the political 

opposition has continued. In September 2007, a prominent member 

of the Azerbaijan Popular Front (AXCP), Alesker Ismaylov, was arrested and, after interrogation, taken to a psychiatric institution, 

a deplorable, yet disturbingly common way of dealing with political 

opponents in post-Soviet republics. So far, the government’s 2008 

election campaign has been relatively quiet. Perhaps this is a result of the perceived absence of any substantial opposition. 

The poor conduct of the election process is in essence a symptom 

of deeper and fundamental challenges confronting the country. The 

source of the problem rests in an entrenched political culture that 

retains a number of Soviet era governance features, among them 

flawed institutions incapable of achieving sufficient levels of accountability. I would note that there were, however, some modest 

positive steps taken by the authorities during the 2005 election 

cycle, including the lifting of a ban on election monitoring by local 

NGOs that receive more than 30 percent of their funding from outside sources, and the creation of a public television station. These 

measures, which were taken under considerable external pressure, 

were put in place late in the election cycle and therefore did not 

achieve the degree and quality of implementation needed to be effective. 

In the broader context of Azerbaijan’s development, the slow 

progress on implementing democratic reforms has not gone unnoticed by key western institutions and monitoring organizations. 

The OSCE and the Council of Europe (COE), for instance, have repeatedly criticized the authorities for the sluggish pace of reform. 

Since 2005, the international bodies have carried on their pressure for democratic reform in the country. In particular, the Venice 

Commission of the COE continued its consultations with the auVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:13 Jan 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 U:\WORK\072908.TXT KATIE
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thorities throughout 2007 and 2008, in which it advocated modifications to the electoral code to tackle the problem of ruling party 

dominance on electoral commissions. 

The non-governmental sector in general finds itself under great 

pressure and pushed to the fringes of the Azeri society. The 

marginalization of organizations and forces not aligned with the regime presents a dilemma that confronts many other unreformed 

post-Soviet regimes; namely, how to include alternative voices in 

the political process and move away from zero-sum politics. 

The ongoing challenges faced by political opposition have also 

been elaborated in some detail in a joint evaluation of the draft law 

on amendment to Azerbaijan’s electoral code undertaken by the 

European Commission for Democracy through Law, know as the 

‘‘Venice Commission’’ and the OSCE’s ODIHR. In a report issued 

on June12, 2008, they set forth a host of deficiencies, among them 

an amendment that would exclude state funded TV and radio from 

providing equal conditions for the conduct of the campaign. The report noted that ‘‘the current amendment would limit the scope of 

election-related information and political views available to voters, 

which are crucial in order for voters to make informed choices on 

election day’’. 

MEDIA SECTOR

The question of media freedom is critical. The Azeri authorities 

have distinguished themselves in the most recent period by their 

intensifying repression of journalists and editors. 

Azerbaijan’s media sector confronts major obstacles. Authorities 

use a variety of tools to manipulate and intimidate the press. State 

businesses in Azerbaijan, for example, do not advertise in opposition newspapers. A private business with interests in state contracts in an economy still dominated by the state will usually decide caution is wiser than advertising in such publications. Publications not aligned with the authorities must obey the rules of stateowned printing facilities. Distribution of opposition publications 

outside of the capital city of Baku is often obstructed. In Baku, unregistered newspaper vendors—the type who sell opposition newspapers—are finding that law enforcers are increasingly vigilant. 

The court system is subordinated to the executive, and therefore 

journalists, editors, and publishers do not have effective legal recourse. 

Journalists are also subject to physical abuse and risk death. In 

March of this year, Agil Khalil, a correspondent for the opposition 

newspaper, Azadlig (Freedom), was stabbed by two unknown men 

as he was leaving the newspaper’s Baku office. Khalil, who had 

published ariticles criticizing senior city government officials, had 

suffered a previous assault when he was attacked and badly beaten 

in February, again by unknown assailants. In early 2008, the US 

State Department released a report, which concluded that ‘‘Azerbaijan’s media freedom environment significantly deteriorated during the year.’’

The Azeri authorities have resisted international pressure to 

abolish laws that make journalists criminally responsible for defamation, and there are currently three journalists serving prison 

sentences in Azerbaijan. 

70

During the 2005 election campaign, in its prime time news and 

current affairs programs, AzTV—the state broadcaster—demonstrated a clear bias. Media monitoring of election campaign content revealed that in the two months leading up to election day 

AzTV provided 97 percent of its political and election prime time 

coverage to the activities of President Aliyev, the presidential administration, the government and the YAP. Private stations Lider, 

Space and ATV reflected a pattern of political favoritism similar to 

that of state-funded broadcasters during the 2005 campaign. 

An extensive report issued in 2007 by the Media Rights Institute 

in Azerbaijan identified major shortfalls in the implementation of 

the country’s December 2005 freedom of information law, finding 

that the government had taken no steps to establish or finance information-services departments within state agencies as called for 

in the legislation. While Azerbaijan’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the press, the authorities use a variety of tools 

to limit press freedom in practice. The broadcast media are the 

main source of information in the country. Of the 16 television stations, four broadcast to a national audience, and all four have clear 

or likely links to the regime. Independent and opposition newspapers struggle financially in the face of low circulation, limited advertising revenues, and heavy fines or imprisonment of their staff. 

State businesses rarely if ever advertise in opposition newspapers. 

While there is some pluralism in the print media, newspapers have 

relatively small print runs. 

In the last weeks of 2006, the authorities mounted a concerted 

effort to hinder the few remaining outlets providing independent 

information to mass audiences. These measures included a decision 

by the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council requiring domestic companies to obtain a license to rebroadcast programs 

from such news sources as the BBC and Radio Free Europe/Radio 

Liberty (RFE/RL). A campaign to silence the relatively independent 

media company ANS ultimately led RFE/RL and the BBC to find 

different frequencies on which to broadcast in 2007. I would note 

that last year the authorities made available an FM frequency that 

has enabled RFE/RL to broadcast more news content, which is a 

welcome development. The BBC’s journalists, however, still are not 

accredited to cover presidential events and therefore are severely 

impeded in gathering and reporting on news from the president’s 

office. 

Over the course of the past year, the government intensified its 

pressure on the media, including using libel and defamation statutes to penalize journalists critical of the authorities. In April 2007, 

Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the newspapers Realni Azerbaijan 

and Gundelik Azerbaijan, was convicted of criminal libel and insult 

and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Fatullayev was known for 

his reporting on issues of official corruption. Rovshan Kabrili, editor of Mukhalifat (Opposition), and a reporter from that newspaper, 

Yashgar Agazade, received 30-month prison sentences in a separate libel case. 

Some 1,500 prisoners were amnestied and released by the government in May 2007. Few of those released were politically sensitive cases or those viewed as political prisoners. President Aliev 

pardoned more than 100 prisoners in late December. Five of these 

71

included imprisoned journalists. Not included in this group were 

the high-profile journalist cases of Eynulla Fatullayev, Sakit 

Zahidov, and Ganimat Zahidov. 

In effect, the distribution of power within Azerbaijan’s media 

community mimics to a significant degree the distribution of political power in that country. Both are profoundly skewed. At the political level, power is effectively monopolized by the YAP, through 

an elaborate web of patronage and entrenched corruption. Those 

not in league with the ruling powers have negligible influence. 

ENERGY AND THE RESOURCE CURSE

While the November 2005 elections revealed the ruling powers’ 

determination to prevent political opposition from reaching a competitive threshold, the ballot also offered evidence to suggest the 

opposition is ill equipped to mount a serious challenge. The current 

political landscape underscores that the political opposition is in a 

worse position today to compete than in previous elections. The suffocating grip on Azerbaijan’s politics by the ruling YAP party presents a singular challenge for the country’s political development. 

At the same time, the opposition has not distinguished itself, leaving an enormous reform vacuum in the country’s political life. This 

absence of meaningful political competition creates a system where 

the ruling elite can and does operate with impunity. 

Indeed, as oil and gas revenues have surged, the incentives for 

the government to enable a role for alternative voices domestically 

or to heed the advice of Western states on democratization and 

human rights has been diminished. In an address to international 

diplomats earlier this month (July 6) that articulated Azerbaijan’s 

resource nationalism posture, President Aliyev told foreign diplomats in no uncertain terms that criticism of Azeri government 

policies on the regulation of civil society will damage international 

relations. He went on to suggest that Azerbaijan would rather 

withdraw from rules-based international organizations than comply 

with demands or requirements that his government opposes. 

In addition to this worrying change of attitude on the part of the 

Azeri president, there is growing reason for concern that Baku’s 

mismanagement of Azerbaijan’s natural energy wealth, as evidenced by rising government expenditures and lack of transparency, will exacerbate the already serious problems of high inflation and widespread corruption in the country, along with their corresponding negative implications for democratization and human 

rights. 

In May of this year, the parliament revised the 2008 state budget 

to accommodate rising revenues from the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ), 

which had increased by 42 percent since the original 2008 budget 

was passed. As a result, state spending is up 30 percent from the 

original budget and now stands at roughly US$14 billion. 

SOFAZ was set up in 1999 to oversee government usage of revenue from oil and gas sales and it has been closely watched as an 

indicator of the kind of efforts being made to diversify Azerbaijan’s 

economy away from dependence on the energy industry. However, 

the Azeri government places no restrictions on its borrowing from 

SOFAZ, and transfers to the budget from SOFAZ now make up 

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ment specified two priorities, those being the armed forces and government infrastructure projects. Military spending on one hand, up 

32% on the original budget, is largely a closed book. Spending on 

infrastructure on the other hand, up more than 50% on the original 

budget, has virtually become an industry in itself. The massive 

scale of the projects and the lack of transparency in the allocation 

of funds have led to questions about efficiency of the expenditure 

of public money and selection of contractors. 

Parliament passed the revised budget without amendment or debate and the lack of discussion meant that consideration of the impact of increased spending on inflation was largely neglected. 

The IMF has also expressed concern, pointing to the ‘‘limited’’ capacity of Azerbaijan’s economy to absorb such hefty expenditure on 

infrastructure, and the ‘‘inadequate ability’’ of officials to ‘‘implement large investment programs’’. 

The Public Finances Monitoring Center in Baku has observed 

that the country’s budget is too dependent on transfers from the 

country’s state oil fund (SOFAZ) while the oil and gas industry is 

supplying more than half of the country’s GDP. Infrastructure 

projects are positive in general, but the problem is that these kinds 

of projects are traditionally misused by corrupt institutions, and 

importantly there is not a watchdog structure in place to ensure 

proper spending of the allocated funds. 

This is a critical point in a country where high levels of corruption pervade society. The prevailing notion among many Azerbaijani officials is that state institutions are designed to confer 

privileges on individuals or special groups rather than meet broader societal needs. Indeed, as the economic windfall from high oil 

prices rockets upward and the temptations of oil money grow, it is 

all the more important to have meaningful political reform to put 

basic checks on rents, runaway patronage and other variants of 

corruption. 

I would mention parenthetically another byproduct of Azerbaijan’s ballooning energy wealth: military spending that is contributing to a growing regional arms race. The 2008 edition of the 

authoritative publication of the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Military Balance points out that the 

GDP increase of Azerbaijan from 2006 to 2007 increased from $20 

billion to $26 billion, growth of some 30%). The defense budget for 

the same interval grew from $658 million to $936 million. That’s 

42% growth. This suggests that the growth in hydrocarbon revenues is disproportionately fueling the regional arms race and contributing to instability in this way. 

The lack of governmental transparency also creates an enabling 

environment for graft and corruption at all levels of the bureaucracy, hindering social and economic development. Of course, a lack 

of transparency also results from state control of media and the absence of a significant opposition group in the parliament, which 

does not possess the capacity for oversight of the executive branch. 

Although we are still nearly three months from the planned October presidential elections in October of this year, senior Azeri officials have this month floated the idea of a third term for President Aliyev. 

73

Ali Ahmedov, deputy chairman and executive secretary of the 

ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party, said on July 18 that ‘‘the fact that 

our people have made their choice long before elections is also connected with Ilham Aliyev’s factor. It is impossible to deprive people 

of the right to choose: this is a fundamental principle of democracy. 

Citizens must decide who will become a president of the country, 

where they live and work. In this sense there are restrictions, contradicting to democracy: restriction of the presidency term. It 

means that if people elect a president every five year, introduction 

of the second restriction-opportunity to be elected a president for 

no more that two times-is senseless. I think it is not democratic to 

restrict presidency with two terms, if people make their choice each 

year through democratic elections’’. 

This suggests that Azerbaijan is laying the foundations for a possible leader for life system along the lines of those that have been 

anchored in Belarus and most of Central Asia. Such controlled and 

insular politics clearly have profound drawbacks. These politically 

closed systems create a zero-sum, winner-takes-all approach to governing. And with unchecked power comes unchecked corruption. 

‘‘Hyper-corruption’’ is the soft underbelly of this model, in which accountability and transparency are in painfully short supply. It is no 

surprise that in 2007 out of 179 countries surveyed Azerbaijan 

shares 150th ranking with Belarus, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador, 

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan 

and Zimbabwe in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. 

Such systems smother the institutions—an independent judiciary, free media, and political opposition, among others—that are 

essential not only for tackling massive corruption but also for improving the quality of public policy, thus preventing meaningful reform in the spheres of education, health, and public infrastructure. 

The challenges to promoting reform in Azerbaijan are considerable. However, given the stakes and the strategic nature of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus and wider Europe and Eurasia region, Freedom House believes that the U.S. government should continue its 

support for democratic and human rights activists, as well as for 

more accountable and transparent institutions. 

Finally, I would conclude by emphasizing the point that the decisions the Azeri authorities take today concerning investment of the 

nation’s many billions of dollars of energy wealth will define Azerbaijan’s course for the next generation—and beyond. A system that 

enables unchecked power and little accountability for how such resources are used holds enormous risks that this unprecedented, but 

ultimately finite, wealth may not be enjoyed by the vast majority 

of ordinary Azeri citizens.

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