Farhad Aliyev
Encyclopedia
Farhad Shovlat oghlu Aliyev is an Azerbaijan
i politician who was born in 1963 in Alar, a village of Jalilabad district, Azerbaijan. He was removed from post in 2005 and accused of plotting a coup d'etat
.
with an honors diploma, in 1980 he received admission to Azerbaijan State Institute of Civil Engineering (ASICE). Farhad Aliyev graduated from ASICE in 1985 and started to work in Jalilabad district. In 1985-87 he served in the Soviet army.
During his education and military service, Farhad Aliyev actively participated in public works. He was elected Deputy Chairman of the Student Union at ASICE and received several awards for exemplary service in the army.
He is married; has two children. His older son Yusif is 17 and younger son Fuad is 12 years old. Farhad Aliyev’s spouse Sabina Aliyeva graduated from Azerbaijan State Medical University
in 1997. She worked at the Scientific-Research Institute on Eye Diseases until the arrest of Farhad Aliyev. She was dismissed from her post immediately after Farhad Aliyev’s 2005 arrest and has not worked anywhere since then.
, which played an important role in the political-public life of Azerbaijan.
In 1990-1997 he headed several private companies functioning in the field of tourism, trade, construction, production. He was a member of the Political Council of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party
during the last 10 years.
In 1997 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade and after a while–the Minister of Trade. At this post, Farhad Aliyev undertook serious reforms for development of the private sector, simplification of export-import transactions, and liberalization of trade in general.
In 1999-2001, holding the post of Minister of State Property, Farhad Aliyev took several successful steps towards creation of a unified register system of state property, re-vitalization of the functioning of institutions that were opened for privatization, securing transparency in the privatization process, and attracting foreign companies to the privatization process besides Azerbaijani citizens.
In 2001, by a decree of the President of Azerbaijan
, Ministries of Economy, Trade and State Property, Committee against Monopolization and for Assistance to Entrepreneurship, and State Agency for Foreign Investments were united in one state organization–Ministry of Economic Development and Farhad Aliyev was appointed the head of the Ministry.
Farhad Aliyev openly criticized monopolies, abuse of power
by state officials, the corrupt court system, etc., and emphasized these problems’ being obstacles on Azerbaijan’s state building and development processes.
On the eve of parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan
, on October 19, 2005, Farhad Aliyev was detained in his office at the Ministry of Economic Development to the Ministry of National Security (MNS). After being kept there for a few hours, he was told that he was dismissed from his post and detained as a suspect with charges on coup d’etat attempt.
In order to implement the plan which impeded the election of western oriented politicians to the parliament, head of Russia’s Federal Investigation Bureau Lebedev, secretary of Security Council Rushaylo and head of Federal Security Service Patrushev who visited Baku have jointly organized operation with Azerbaijan’s special services which resulted in the arrest of Aliyev brothers and several other politicians. Russian media considered the operation as successful and victorious over the West.
Understanding that their coup accusation was not successful and that no one would believe it, law enforcement agencies have accused Farhad Aliyev of embezzlement and appropriation of state property. The decision published in this regard did not even have the names and amount of facilities which had allegedly been appropriated. Farhad Aliyev has not even been brought to trial for his arrest, on the contrary, the judge was called to the room of the investigator of the Security Ministry which is not an attribution of justice. In that room, judge had read a decision about Farhad Aliyev’s 2 month arrest without initial proof and without investigating the legality of the arrest. Afterwards, the arrest period of Farhad Aliyev, who had never brought to the court again was prolonged illegally for 18 months.
After the initial arrest, the flat where Farhad Aliyev’s family members resided was kept under the control for 3 days by the law enforcement agencies and the family members were followed. During the illegal searches conducted at his house and at houses of his close relatives many items were stolen.
A group of experts consisting of inspectors of the Ministry of Finance have conducted check-ups at administrative building of investigation department for serious crimes. During the check-ups and expertise conducted based on these check-ups requirements of presidential decrees and governmental orders were distorted. Farhad Aliyev did not take part in check-ups and expertises.
Individuals were made to give false testimonies against Farhad Aliyev during the initial investigation and upon receiving such testimonies they were set free. Several attempts were made during the investigation to receive testimonies from Farhad Aliyev against himself. A person named Alihuseyn Shaliyev who was arrested in connection with this matter and who had sympathy towards Mr. Aliyev, died in the treatment department of penitentiary services in unknown circumstances, and the real cause of his death has not been investigated.
In the initial stage of the arrest, a lawyer whom Farhad Aliyev did not know and whom he did not invite, was appointed at the expense of the stage budget. In order to limit his defence rights, the criminal persecution organ had excluded lawyer Adil Ismayilov from the process who was invited by Farhad. Another lawyer, Ramiz Mammadov, had undergone humiliating and not justified searches several times after meeting Farhad. Notes taken by the lawyer for defence purposes were confiscated during the search operation.
It was prohibited for lawyers Anthony Lester and Lucy James who represent Farhad Aliyev in European Court for Human Rights
to have a meeting with him. These lawyers have not even been allowed to the court room
as ordinary participants.
Neither Farhad Aliyev nor his lawyers were allowed to see criminal materials. Without explaining the essence and content of the accusation, finalization of the initial investigation was announced and the criminal proceeding was passed to the court on Serious Crimes.
During the first session of the court, judges had interfered to Farhad Aliyev’s testimony in 8 occasions, impeding him to testify freely. While Farhad Aliyev was kept in the remand centre of the Ministry of National Security, he was demanded the following in return for freedom:
When he voiced the above-said in court room, the judges refused to listen and left the court room.
None of the many petitions given by Farhad Aliyev and his lawyers were accepted during the court investigation.
Judges of the first instance courts who had demonstrated full dependency on criminal persecution organs did not allow to get familiarized with fake evidence, in particular with the results of expert opinions and audit check-ups collected during the initial investigation period and have not completed the process fully sentencing Farhad Aliyev to 10 years and his brother Rafiq Aliyev to 9 years in prison. In accordance with the court decision
property of Farhad Aliyev’s mother, spouse and other close relatives which were obtained even before his appointment as minister were confiscated.
The court decision did not justify imprisonment of Aliyev brothers for long period of time. The verdict did not point out the contents of his punishment and defence from threats existing in society.
Neither of the Aliyev brothers were successful in the court of appeals
. Judges of the court who decided to conduct inquiry without investigation were not only able to provide material and procedural provisions, they also were unable to arrange for medical aid to Farhad Aliyev, whose health had deteriorated during the trial. Investigation at the court of appeal was completely formal. The court had refused to investigate violations of the fundamental rights of the Aliyev brothers during both the initial investigation and court investigation, which derived from the Constitution and international contracts that the country abided by. Without investigating other evidence the court went on just by interrogating them.
The court of appeals did not check the circumstances stated in testimonies of the Aliyev brothers regarding their innocence, numerous petitions presented by them and their lawyers were declined without showing legal reasons. With the decision of the court of appeals dated 18 July 2008, the illegal decision of the first instance court was kept in force without making any changes to it.
No fair court decisions were made with regards to Farhad Aliyev and his lawyers’ numerous complaints about illegal conduct of senior officials, all of the appeals were rejected.
signed collectively by the heads of the law enforcement agencies, which violated his right for presumption of innocence
and had presented him as a person who made a coup attempt.
High ranking officials of the state, in particular, head of presidential administration Mr. Ramiz Mehdiyev had accused him in financing the opposition, head of department in presidential administration Mr. Ali Hasanov had accused him of holding secret meetings with the former US State Secretary Madeleine Albright
, MPs of the ruling party
had accused him in appropriation of state property and in an attempt to organize an “orange revolution” with the support of US ambassador
in Azerbaijan Rino Harnish.
High ranking officials had called him “corrupt” and “monopolist” during the government sessions broadcast by television. Such accusations were voiced both during the initial stage of the arrest and during the court investigation.
The investigation processes conducted during both court instances Farhad Aliyev was kept behind iron bars. His photos and images behind iron bars were constantly published in mass media.
After their arrest, the Aliyev brothers were kept in the 7.5 sq meters remand centre of the Ministry of National Security for 1012 days in a solitary cell, walls, ceiling and floor of which was of concrete. During this period he was not allowed to see his family members, close people and other persons. He was also prohibited from talking on the phone and writing letters.
Since 28 July 2008, for 16 days he was kept at a section of investigation ward # 1 called “death corps”. Appeals to improve the conditions of the cell (without ventilation and where the temperature reached 40 C degrees in summer) were not considered.
On 14 August 2008 Farhad Aliyev was sent to prison # 2, and Rafiq Aliyev was sent to prison # 6 of the penitentiary service. Appeals to place them in the same prisons were rejected.
. During the initial investigation and court investigation in connection with the criminal case
, constant violations of his rights deriving from the Convention and national legislation (more than 150 rights considered in Criminal Procedural Code of Azerbaijan Republic have been violated), disturbance and remaining in solitary cell had complicated his health situation even more.
More than 50 appeals made by lawyers with regards to his treatment had not been responded to. The response of the first instance court said that the remand centre had the responsibility to care about the prisoner’s health status. Management of the investigation ward either directed appeals (also received from other agencies) to the first instance courts, or to the court of appeals (while the case was not submitted to the court of appeals) saying that issue to be dealt with by the courts.
Appeals made by the defendants to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ministers of Health, Justice and National Security, Ombudsman and other agencies regarding treatment and medical examination
of Farhad Aliyev had no result. (The presidential administration did not respond to appeals, Ombudsman said that appeals to the court regarding the health status of Farhad was interference, other ministries responded perfunctorily).
In December 2005 Farhad was taken to Central Clinical Hospital due to deterioration of his health and in July 2006, as well as February 2008 he was taken to the treatment centre of the penitentiary service, however, he was returned in all cases without undergoing a comprehensive medical examination. When his health had deteriorated again in October 2008 in prison # 2, doctors of his own choice were not allowed to examine and treat him. Copies of medical examination documents were neither presented to him nor to his defendants.
Despite the sudden deterioration of his health on 20 August 2007, at the first instance court, and on 1 July 2008, at the court of appeal, no measures were taken for comprehensive examination and treatment.
Resolution No 1545 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) dated 16 April 2007 about ensuring Farhad Aliyev’s right to receive medical aid was ignored. Recommendations of US State Department
, PACE deputies, influential international rights activist organizations such as Human Rights Watch
and Amnesty International
who accepted him as a political prisoner
were ignored as well. Indifferent attitude towards his health is continuing today.
On October 28, 2008, cassation complaints of Farhad Aliyev and Rafiq Aliyev regarding the appellate instance court were presented to the Supreme Court
. The complaints said that verdicts and decisions of previous instance courts were illegal and groundless as well as pointed out legal violations towards the Aliyev brothers, along with emphasizing the lack of proof for the accusations against them.
On 28 October 2008, the Supreme Court was requested to abolish the verdict of appellate court and the relevant decision of the first instance court and confirm the innocence of the Aliyev brothers.
The Supreme Court heard the cassation appeal on 6 July 2009, filed by the defenders of Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev. The complaints said that rights of Farhad Aliyev and his brother Rafiq Aliyev, which are secured in the Constitution, European Convention, and the country’s procedural laws were violated, and proves that completely dismissed accusations were indicated in the appeal. The cassation trial on the criminal case, consisting of more than 360 volumes and covering about 200 accusation episodes, lasted only for 5 hours with short breaks. The court demonstrated that it was not going to investigate any proof from the defense side.
It was once again demanded that the coup accusation, which has not found its resolution for about four years, and which is hidden from open court investigation through any means, be sued. However, the panel of judges of the Supreme Court did not react to this.
The Supreme Court’s approach to the case of Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev brothers once again showed that protection means in the country are inefficient.
Even though communications ended with regards to the complaint filed to the European Court under the articles 3, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 14 of the Convention about the violations of the rights of Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev in a pre-trial period on September 2006, no necessary decision has been made up to date.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i politician who was born in 1963 in Alar, a village of Jalilabad district, Azerbaijan. He was removed from post in 2005 and accused of plotting a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
.
Early life
Farhad received his school education at Alar village in 1970-1980. Having completed his secondary educationSecondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
with an honors diploma, in 1980 he received admission to Azerbaijan State Institute of Civil Engineering (ASICE). Farhad Aliyev graduated from ASICE in 1985 and started to work in Jalilabad district. In 1985-87 he served in the Soviet army.
During his education and military service, Farhad Aliyev actively participated in public works. He was elected Deputy Chairman of the Student Union at ASICE and received several awards for exemplary service in the army.
He is married; has two children. His older son Yusif is 17 and younger son Fuad is 12 years old. Farhad Aliyev’s spouse Sabina Aliyeva graduated from Azerbaijan State Medical University
Azerbaijan Medical University
Azerbaijan Medical University, named after Nariman Narimanov is the formal name of the public medical school located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Due to difficulties with translation, the school is sometimes called: Azerbaijan Medical University, Azerbaijan State Medical University, Azerbaijan State...
in 1997. She worked at the Scientific-Research Institute on Eye Diseases until the arrest of Farhad Aliyev. She was dismissed from her post immediately after Farhad Aliyev’s 2005 arrest and has not worked anywhere since then.
State Positions
Besides public activities, Farhad Aliyev worked in several state positions during 1985-1990. At that time he headed a department in the Central Committee of the Youth Organization of Azerbaijan RepublicAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, which played an important role in the political-public life of Azerbaijan.
In 1990-1997 he headed several private companies functioning in the field of tourism, trade, construction, production. He was a member of the Political Council of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party
New Azerbaijan Party
The New Azerbaijan Party is the ruling political party in Azerbaijan. It was formed on 18 December 1992 by the former President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, who led it until his retirement and death in 2003...
during the last 10 years.
In 1997 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade and after a while–the Minister of Trade. At this post, Farhad Aliyev undertook serious reforms for development of the private sector, simplification of export-import transactions, and liberalization of trade in general.
In 1999-2001, holding the post of Minister of State Property, Farhad Aliyev took several successful steps towards creation of a unified register system of state property, re-vitalization of the functioning of institutions that were opened for privatization, securing transparency in the privatization process, and attracting foreign companies to the privatization process besides Azerbaijani citizens.
In 2001, by a decree of the President of Azerbaijan
President of Azerbaijan
The country of Azerbaijan is a presidential republic, with the President of Azerbaijan as the head of state, and the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan as head of government...
, Ministries of Economy, Trade and State Property, Committee against Monopolization and for Assistance to Entrepreneurship, and State Agency for Foreign Investments were united in one state organization–Ministry of Economic Development and Farhad Aliyev was appointed the head of the Ministry.
Farhad Aliyev openly criticized monopolies, abuse of power
Abuse of Power
Abuse of Power is a novel written by radio talk show host Michael Savage.- Plot :Jack Hatfield is a hardened former war correspondent who rose to national prominence for his insightful, provocative commentary...
by state officials, the corrupt court system, etc., and emphasized these problems’ being obstacles on Azerbaijan’s state building and development processes.
On the eve of parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan
Elections in Azerbaijan
Elections in Azerbaijan gives information on election and election results in Azerbaijan.Azerbaijan elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five year term by the people; before a referendum changed this in 2009, the position was...
, on October 19, 2005, Farhad Aliyev was detained in his office at the Ministry of Economic Development to the Ministry of National Security (MNS). After being kept there for a few hours, he was told that he was dismissed from his post and detained as a suspect with charges on coup d’etat attempt.
Bias accusations and initial arrest
Former Economic Development Minister of Azerbaijan Farhad Aliyev and his brother, owner of “Azpetrol” group of companies, were accused in a fabricated attempt to “coup” and arrested in October 2005 with political order, 20 days before parliamentary elections.In order to implement the plan which impeded the election of western oriented politicians to the parliament, head of Russia’s Federal Investigation Bureau Lebedev, secretary of Security Council Rushaylo and head of Federal Security Service Patrushev who visited Baku have jointly organized operation with Azerbaijan’s special services which resulted in the arrest of Aliyev brothers and several other politicians. Russian media considered the operation as successful and victorious over the West.
Understanding that their coup accusation was not successful and that no one would believe it, law enforcement agencies have accused Farhad Aliyev of embezzlement and appropriation of state property. The decision published in this regard did not even have the names and amount of facilities which had allegedly been appropriated. Farhad Aliyev has not even been brought to trial for his arrest, on the contrary, the judge was called to the room of the investigator of the Security Ministry which is not an attribution of justice. In that room, judge had read a decision about Farhad Aliyev’s 2 month arrest without initial proof and without investigating the legality of the arrest. Afterwards, the arrest period of Farhad Aliyev, who had never brought to the court again was prolonged illegally for 18 months.
After the initial arrest, the flat where Farhad Aliyev’s family members resided was kept under the control for 3 days by the law enforcement agencies and the family members were followed. During the illegal searches conducted at his house and at houses of his close relatives many items were stolen.
A group of experts consisting of inspectors of the Ministry of Finance have conducted check-ups at administrative building of investigation department for serious crimes. During the check-ups and expertise conducted based on these check-ups requirements of presidential decrees and governmental orders were distorted. Farhad Aliyev did not take part in check-ups and expertises.
Individuals were made to give false testimonies against Farhad Aliyev during the initial investigation and upon receiving such testimonies they were set free. Several attempts were made during the investigation to receive testimonies from Farhad Aliyev against himself. A person named Alihuseyn Shaliyev who was arrested in connection with this matter and who had sympathy towards Mr. Aliyev, died in the treatment department of penitentiary services in unknown circumstances, and the real cause of his death has not been investigated.
In the initial stage of the arrest, a lawyer whom Farhad Aliyev did not know and whom he did not invite, was appointed at the expense of the stage budget. In order to limit his defence rights, the criminal persecution organ had excluded lawyer Adil Ismayilov from the process who was invited by Farhad. Another lawyer, Ramiz Mammadov, had undergone humiliating and not justified searches several times after meeting Farhad. Notes taken by the lawyer for defence purposes were confiscated during the search operation.
It was prohibited for lawyers Anthony Lester and Lucy James who represent Farhad Aliyev in European Court for Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
to have a meeting with him. These lawyers have not even been allowed to the court room
Courtroom
A courtroom is the actual enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds court.The schedule of official court proceedings is called a docket; the term is also synonymous with a court's caseload as a whole.-Courtroom design:-United States:...
as ordinary participants.
Neither Farhad Aliyev nor his lawyers were allowed to see criminal materials. Without explaining the essence and content of the accusation, finalization of the initial investigation was announced and the criminal proceeding was passed to the court on Serious Crimes.
Refusal of the right of fair court investigation
Partially closed court hearings of the Aliyev brothers were unfair and biased. Because the accusations were fabricated and evidence was false, judges did not allow him to get familiarity with the materials of the case that he was accused of and make copies of necessary documents for defence purposes.During the first session of the court, judges had interfered to Farhad Aliyev’s testimony in 8 occasions, impeding him to testify freely. While Farhad Aliyev was kept in the remand centre of the Ministry of National Security, he was demanded the following in return for freedom:
- Confess his coup attempt;
- Announce his will to organize orange revolution and that it was instigated by the US state officials and especially by ambassador Reno Harnish;
- Understand his mistake and request pardon from the President;
- Pay a certain amount of bribe.
When he voiced the above-said in court room, the judges refused to listen and left the court room.
None of the many petitions given by Farhad Aliyev and his lawyers were accepted during the court investigation.
Judges of the first instance courts who had demonstrated full dependency on criminal persecution organs did not allow to get familiarized with fake evidence, in particular with the results of expert opinions and audit check-ups collected during the initial investigation period and have not completed the process fully sentencing Farhad Aliyev to 10 years and his brother Rafiq Aliyev to 9 years in prison. In accordance with the court decision
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
property of Farhad Aliyev’s mother, spouse and other close relatives which were obtained even before his appointment as minister were confiscated.
The court decision did not justify imprisonment of Aliyev brothers for long period of time. The verdict did not point out the contents of his punishment and defence from threats existing in society.
Neither of the Aliyev brothers were successful in the court of appeals
Court of Appeals
A court of appeals is an appellate court generally.Court of Appeals may refer to:*Military Court of Appeals *Corte d'Assise d'Appello *Philippine Court of Appeals*High Court of Appeals of Turkey*United States courts of appeals...
. Judges of the court who decided to conduct inquiry without investigation were not only able to provide material and procedural provisions, they also were unable to arrange for medical aid to Farhad Aliyev, whose health had deteriorated during the trial. Investigation at the court of appeal was completely formal. The court had refused to investigate violations of the fundamental rights of the Aliyev brothers during both the initial investigation and court investigation, which derived from the Constitution and international contracts that the country abided by. Without investigating other evidence the court went on just by interrogating them.
The court of appeals did not check the circumstances stated in testimonies of the Aliyev brothers regarding their innocence, numerous petitions presented by them and their lawyers were declined without showing legal reasons. With the decision of the court of appeals dated 18 July 2008, the illegal decision of the first instance court was kept in force without making any changes to it.
No fair court decisions were made with regards to Farhad Aliyev and his lawyers’ numerous complaints about illegal conduct of senior officials, all of the appeals were rejected.
Violation of presumption of innocence (internal and external aspects) and bad treatment
Upon the initial arrest of Farhad Aliyev when there was no legal court decision, special information published in mass mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
signed collectively by the heads of the law enforcement agencies, which violated his right for presumption of innocence
Presumption of innocence
The presumption of innocence, sometimes referred to by the Latin expression Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat, is the principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Application of this principle is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial, recognised in many...
and had presented him as a person who made a coup attempt.
High ranking officials of the state, in particular, head of presidential administration Mr. Ramiz Mehdiyev had accused him in financing the opposition, head of department in presidential administration Mr. Ali Hasanov had accused him of holding secret meetings with the former US State Secretary Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
, MPs of the ruling party
Ruling party
The ruling party or governing party in a parliamentary system is the political party or coalition of the majority in parliament. Within a parliamentary system, the majority in the legislature also controls the executive branch of government, thus leaving no possibility of dueling parties...
had accused him in appropriation of state property and in an attempt to organize an “orange revolution” with the support of US ambassador
Ambassadors from the United States
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, to past nations, and ambassadors-at-large.Ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...
in Azerbaijan Rino Harnish.
High ranking officials had called him “corrupt” and “monopolist” during the government sessions broadcast by television. Such accusations were voiced both during the initial stage of the arrest and during the court investigation.
The investigation processes conducted during both court instances Farhad Aliyev was kept behind iron bars. His photos and images behind iron bars were constantly published in mass media.
After their arrest, the Aliyev brothers were kept in the 7.5 sq meters remand centre of the Ministry of National Security for 1012 days in a solitary cell, walls, ceiling and floor of which was of concrete. During this period he was not allowed to see his family members, close people and other persons. He was also prohibited from talking on the phone and writing letters.
Since 28 July 2008, for 16 days he was kept at a section of investigation ward # 1 called “death corps”. Appeals to improve the conditions of the cell (without ventilation and where the temperature reached 40 C degrees in summer) were not considered.
On 14 August 2008 Farhad Aliyev was sent to prison # 2, and Rafiq Aliyev was sent to prison # 6 of the penitentiary service. Appeals to place them in the same prisons were rejected.
Refusal of the right to protect health and receive medical aid.
Before his arrest Farhad Aliyev was suffering from heart diseaseHeart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
. During the initial investigation and court investigation in connection with the criminal case
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
, constant violations of his rights deriving from the Convention and national legislation (more than 150 rights considered in Criminal Procedural Code of Azerbaijan Republic have been violated), disturbance and remaining in solitary cell had complicated his health situation even more.
More than 50 appeals made by lawyers with regards to his treatment had not been responded to. The response of the first instance court said that the remand centre had the responsibility to care about the prisoner’s health status. Management of the investigation ward either directed appeals (also received from other agencies) to the first instance courts, or to the court of appeals (while the case was not submitted to the court of appeals) saying that issue to be dealt with by the courts.
Appeals made by the defendants to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ministers of Health, Justice and National Security, Ombudsman and other agencies regarding treatment and medical examination
Physical examination
Physical examination or clinical examination is the process by which a doctor investigates the body of a patient for signs of disease. It generally follows the taking of the medical history — an account of the symptoms as experienced by the patient...
of Farhad Aliyev had no result. (The presidential administration did not respond to appeals, Ombudsman said that appeals to the court regarding the health status of Farhad was interference, other ministries responded perfunctorily).
In December 2005 Farhad was taken to Central Clinical Hospital due to deterioration of his health and in July 2006, as well as February 2008 he was taken to the treatment centre of the penitentiary service, however, he was returned in all cases without undergoing a comprehensive medical examination. When his health had deteriorated again in October 2008 in prison # 2, doctors of his own choice were not allowed to examine and treat him. Copies of medical examination documents were neither presented to him nor to his defendants.
Despite the sudden deterioration of his health on 20 August 2007, at the first instance court, and on 1 July 2008, at the court of appeal, no measures were taken for comprehensive examination and treatment.
Resolution No 1545 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
(PACE) dated 16 April 2007 about ensuring Farhad Aliyev’s right to receive medical aid was ignored. Recommendations of US State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, PACE deputies, influential international rights activist organizations such as Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
who accepted him as a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
were ignored as well. Indifferent attitude towards his health is continuing today.
On October 28, 2008, cassation complaints of Farhad Aliyev and Rafiq Aliyev regarding the appellate instance court were presented to the Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
. The complaints said that verdicts and decisions of previous instance courts were illegal and groundless as well as pointed out legal violations towards the Aliyev brothers, along with emphasizing the lack of proof for the accusations against them.
On 28 October 2008, the Supreme Court was requested to abolish the verdict of appellate court and the relevant decision of the first instance court and confirm the innocence of the Aliyev brothers.
The Supreme Court heard the cassation appeal on 6 July 2009, filed by the defenders of Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev. The complaints said that rights of Farhad Aliyev and his brother Rafiq Aliyev, which are secured in the Constitution, European Convention, and the country’s procedural laws were violated, and proves that completely dismissed accusations were indicated in the appeal. The cassation trial on the criminal case, consisting of more than 360 volumes and covering about 200 accusation episodes, lasted only for 5 hours with short breaks. The court demonstrated that it was not going to investigate any proof from the defense side.
It was once again demanded that the coup accusation, which has not found its resolution for about four years, and which is hidden from open court investigation through any means, be sued. However, the panel of judges of the Supreme Court did not react to this.
The Supreme Court’s approach to the case of Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev brothers once again showed that protection means in the country are inefficient.
Even though communications ended with regards to the complaint filed to the European Court under the articles 3, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 14 of the Convention about the violations of the rights of Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev in a pre-trial period on September 2006, no necessary decision has been made up to date.