WRITTEN QUESTION P-3314/98

by Rijk van Dam (EDD) to the Commission

(27 October 1998)

Subject: The detained leader of the United People's Party of Azerbaijan, Alakram Gumbatov

1. Is the Commission aware of the situation of the detained leader of the United People's Party of Azerbaijan, Alakram Gumbatov, whose wife is living in the Netherlands as a refugee?

2. How does it view the fact that Gumbatov has been held without trial and that the criminal proceedings and the file on the case are not being disclosed to the outside world?

3. Does it feel that Gumbatov's arrest is evidence of insufficient a guarantee of political freedoms by the Azerbaijani authorities?

4. What does it think of the situation that has now arisen, in which the Azerbaijani authorities appear to be deliberately withholding medical aid and food from Gumbatov?

5. Is the Commission willing to appeal to the Azerbaijani Government on humanitarian grounds to bring Gumbatov's treatment in detention into line with the relevant international standards, possibly in cooperation with the International Red Cross?

6. What is the human rights situation in Azerbaijan? What does the above example mean for trade relations between the EU and Azerbaijan?

Answer given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(16 November 1998)

The Commission has not been informed in detail about the case of Mr Gumbatov. However, it understands that he was arrested in 1993 at a time when Azerbaijan faced the danger of political dissolution. The President at that time had lost power and several war lords controlled different parts of the country. One of these was Mr Gumbatov who declared an independent Talish-Mugan Republic in the southern part of Azerbaijan, near the border with Iran.

The Commission understands that Mr Gumbatov was sentenced to death in February 1996 on charges of treason and attempting to stage a coup d'Etat. The death sentence has since been abolished in Azerbaijan.

The Commission is aware of the general conditions under which prisoners are held in Azerbaijan, which are highly unsatisfactory. The Commission would be willing to support any initiative on the part of the Union to improve the conditions under which prisoners are held in Azerbaijan and to bring the legal system up to Organization for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe standards.

Representatives of the Commission raised the general issue of human rights during different meetings with representatives of the Azerbaijani government. The Parliament delegation for the relations with the Transcaucasian Republics also discussed this when it visited Azerbaijan at the end of June 1998. In any future contacts, the Commission will continue to press the Azerbaijani authorities to improve their situation. The next Community-Azerbaijan joint committee meeting foreseen for December 1998 also provides an opportunity to discuss informally the human rights situation with the authorities and to explore ways and means of improving the situation. Moreover, the entry into force of the partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA) next year will provide a more institutionalised platform for the Community and its Member States to address these questions. The Commission has equally launched projects in Azerbaijan under the Tacis democracy programme.