COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE BEGINS REVIEW OF REPORT OF AZERBAIJAN

The Committee against Torture this afternoon began its consideration of the third periodic report of Azerbaijan on the efforts of that country to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Introducing the report, Khalaf Khalafov, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, said that, since 2006, measures were being implemented to fulfil the National Action Plan for the Protection of Human Rights which, inter alia, provided measures for the improvement of the activity of state bodies in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights, continuing improvement of the judiciary, strengthening and ensuring the independence of the advocate institute, continuing construction of the penitentiary institutions, and the establishment of an effective system of control over the activities of the penitentiary institutions. A working group had been established to increase the effectiveness of the judiciary, ensure the independence of judges and improve their election process. Competitions had twice been held under the new rules for the hiring of judges, and the number of judges had been increased by 50 per cent since 2000 (with 6 judges now per 1,000 persons as opposed to 4 in 2000).

Mr. Khalafov said that Parliament was considering a draft law on maintenance of detained, arrested and convicted persons in places of detention which envisaged medical examinations not only by medical personnel attached to the penitentiary service, but also by public and private medical institutions by request of the suspected or accused persons or their defender. The Public Committee for Penitentiary Institutions, consisting of representatives of State entities and non-governmental organizations, regularly conducted monitoring at its own discretion in different penitentiary institutions and the number of monitoring visits conducted was increasing every year. In the first year of its existence, 2006/07, there had been 75 visits, with 90 completed in 2008.

Serving as Rapporteur for the report of Azerbaijan, Committee Expert Felice Gaer welcomed Azerbaijan's ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention and its cooperation with the European Committee on Torture, as well as the renovations it had undertaken of prisons, and training of prison staff that had taken place. There were still allegations of torture, however, and information that investigation of torture and ill-treatment complaints remained minimal in Azerbaijan. An overarching issue was a gap between legal efforts and implementation on the ground. There was a need for disaggregated statistical data according to crime, location, ethnicity, gender, on complaints of torture and ill-treatment, as well as on the related investigations, prosecutions and sentences handed down. She also asked about Chechens who had been illegally transferred to Russia, where they were under threat of torture.

Xuexian Wang, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Azerbaijan, asked about the individual cases of deaths in police custody documented in the report. In two cases, detainees suspected of criminal offences who had not been in custody for long had committed suicide; this seemed to him to require a more in-depth investigation. He also wished to know about provisions for financial reparations to be paid to torture victims, as well as provisions for their rehabilitation.

Also representing the delegation of Azerbaijan was Elchin Amirbayov, the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and other members of the Permanent Mission in Geneva; Deputy Ministers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health; and representatives from the State Committee for the Family, Women and Children's Affairs and from the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan.

The delegation will return to the Committee at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 10 November, to provide further responses to the questions raised today.

Azerbaijan is among the 146 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 November, it will begin its examination of the fourth periodic report of Colombia (CAT/C/COL/4).

Report of Azerbaijan

The third periodic report of Azerbaijan (CAT/C/AZE/3) notes that wide-ranging measures are being put in place to improve the operation of the prison system, to render it more efficient and to correct any shortcomings. In 2000 Azerbaijan signed an agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), under which ICRC representatives have systematic and unlimited access to places of detention; they carry out individual interviews with prisoners and provide them with specific medical assistance. In December 2001, Azerbaijan acceded to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, giving the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture the ability to carry out unhindered visits to State institutions and places of detention. In January 2005, the chief of the prison service was removed from his post for misconduct, and other senior prison officers were removed from their posts, prosecuted and convicted. A Human Rights and Public Relations Office has been established within the Ministry of Justice to safeguard and protect the rights and freedoms of convicted and remand prisoners, maintain close cooperation with human rights non-governmental organizations in this area, enhance legal education and public information, and strengthen community relations. In addition, a new set of laws meeting international standards has been adopted, measures have been taken to radically improve convicts’ conditions of detention, and a special inspectorate in the Ministry provides internal oversight of enforcement of sentences and observance of the law applicable to persons in detention. Furthermore, a Public Affairs Committee has been set up and is working effectively within the Ministry; it ensures participation by civil society in rehabilitation and provides public oversight of prisons. And, in April 2006, the Parliament adopted a law on the custody of suspects and accused persons which pays special attention to protecting the rights and freedoms of suspects and accused persons, ensuring their legal status and upholding their rights.

Among other things, the report also sets out the facts and status of cases of 11 deaths that occurred in the context of police proceedings or while in police custody.

Presentation of Report

KHALAF KHALAFOV, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, said that, on 27 September 2003, a presidential order had been issued on the implementation of the recommendations made by the Convention against Torture following its consideration of Azerbaijan's second periodic report, and a special working group, comprised of representatives of the President's Office, Parliament, the Constitutional Court and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Internal Affairs, National Security and Public Health, had been set up to act on the recommendations.

As regards to the recommendation on the full conformity of the definition of torture in article one of the Convention with national legislation, Mr. Khalafov said that that definition had been incorporated into the relevant articles of criminal legislation in Azerbaijan.

On the domestic front, for the period 2001 to 2008, 161 persons were convicted under article 133 for acts of domestic violence under the Criminal Code. In addition, for the first nine months of 2009, on 73 cases involving harsh treatment of citizens, unjustified detention and other violations of human rights and freedoms, criminal proceedings had been instituted against five police officers, nine others had been dismissed from the police force, 18 had been transferred to another service, and 40 had received cautions.

With regard to international law, Mr. Khalafov highlighted that by ratifying the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to it, Azerbaijan had become a party to all eight main international treaties in the field of human rights. Furthermore, Azerbaijan had signed the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2007. In December of 2008, Azerbaijan had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and, by Presidential Decree, since 13 January 2009, the Commissioner on Human Rights (Ombudsman) had been designated as the national preventive mechanism under that instrument.

On 18 March 2009 Constitutional reforms very significant for the promotion and protection of human rights had been undertaken, in particular measures on the realization of justice and the independence of the judiciary, Mr. Khalafov highlighted. Moreover, since 2006, measures were being implemented to fulfil the National Action Plan for the Protection of Human Rights which, inter alia, provided measures for the improvement of the activity of state bodies in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights, continuing improvement of the judiciary, strengthening and ensuring the independence of the advocate institute, continuing construction of the penitentiary institutions, and the establishment of an effective system of control over the activities of the penitentiary institutions.

A working group had been established by the Government together with the Council of Europe in order to increase the effectiveness of the judiciary, ensure the independence of judges and improve their election process, Mr. Khalafov added. Subsequently, a special law on the "Judicial Legal Council" had been adopted by Parliament and significant amendments had been made to the law on courts and judges. Competitions had twice been held under the new rules for the hiring of judges, and the number of judges had been increased by 50 per cent since 2000 (with 6 judges now per 1,000 persons as opposed to 4 in 2000).

With regard to humanization of the rules for exercising punishments, Parliament had adopted the Law on Amendments and Additions to the Penal Code, as well as to the Code of Criminal Procedure. Application of that law granted convicted persons the right to watch television in the cells and increased the number of telephone calls, short and long visits and parcels that prisoners could receive, among other measures.

Currently, Parliament was considering a draft law on maintenance of detained, arrested and convicted persons in places of detention which envisaged medical examinations not only by medical personnel attached to the penitentiary service, but also by public and private medical institutions by request of the suspected or accused persons or their defender, Mr. Khalafov added.

Regarding improvements in prisons infrastructure, Mr. Khalafov noted that a mixed regime penitentiary institution with a capacity of 400 persons in line with modern standards had been opened in April 2008 in the Naxchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. A new penal institution for those in investigative detention had been built in Zabrat district, near Baku, and opened in May 2009, and the construction of a similar institution in Shaki (for 900 persons) and in Lankaran (for 1,000 persons) and a prison in Umbaki district was continuing. Moreover, 9,000 persons had been released from detention according to the last act of amnesty in March 2009.

Turning to the issue of monitoring, Mr. Khalafov said that the Public Committee for Penitentiary Institutions, consisting of representatives of State entities and non-governmental organizations, regularly conducted monitoring at its own discretion in different penitentiary institutions and the number of monitoring visits conducted was increasing every year. In the first year of its existence – 2006/07 – there had been 75 visits, with 90 completed in 2008.

Regarding training and awareness-raising, Mr. Khalafov noted that special events were organized together with international organizations directed to awareness-raising, education and training of penitentiary personnel, particularly in the field of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment. Within the framework of the programme on support of reforms in the justice system, implemented together with the European Commission, there had been seminars organized to raise the knowledge level of the penitentiary staff. The new text of the European Prison Rules had also been translated into Azerbaijani and published for general circulation. In addition, in the framework of the technical assistance programme to Azerbaijan on enhancement of opportunities and infrastructure for protection of human rights signed between the Government and OHCHR, there had been a number of awareness-raising events and trainings for judicial staff.

Finally, Mr. Khalafov wished to highlight the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven regions around it, which constituted 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory, and which were occupied by Armenia. The problem of prisoners of war, hostages and missing persons remained a subject of deep concern for the Government. Some 4,500 citizens of Azerbaijan were missing, and they had information that 552 citizens taken hostage by Armenia had been killed as a result of torture and torment.

Questions Raised by Committee Experts

FELICE GAER, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Azerbaijan, welcomed Azerbaijan's ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, its ratification of the European Convention against Torture and its cooperation with the European Committee on Torture, as well as the renovations it had undertaken of prisons, the training of prison staff that had taken place and the allocation of sufficient funds for those purposes. All of that was truly notable.

However, there were still allegations of torture, ill-treatment and other problems that had been alerted to the Committee. Ms. Gaer drew attention in particular to the progress report of the European Union Communities, which noted that the majority of allegations of torture or ill-treatment were related to the time of questioning by police officers with a view to obtaining confessions, and that investigation of torture and ill-treatment complaints remained minimal.

An overarching issue was a gap between legal efforts and implementation on the ground. There was, in particular, a need for disaggregated statistical data according to crime, location, ethnicity, gender, on complaints of torture and ill-treatment, as well as the related investigations, prosecutions and sentences carried out or handed down. The Committee also lacked information on the number and location of detainees and the number of complaints of torture or ill-treatment, to such a degree that it raised a number of new questions about the application of the Convention. Could the delegation explain the reason for that absence? Was such information collected, Ms. Gaer asked?

Ms. Gaer was also not satisfied that the definition of torture in Azerbaijani law was in full conformity with the Convention, and was concerned that it did not include all the elements of that definition, including with regard to discrimination as a cause for torture, and that it only covered State agents as perpetrators.

As to torture convictions, Ms. Gaer had questions about the information provided in the report and by the delegation in its presentation. The written copy provided of the delegation's presentation today said that, for the period 2001 to 2008, 161 persons were convicted for the crime of torment, whereas the interpreter had said "domestic violence". However, there was no provision in the Criminal Code for domestic violence in Azerbaijan. Moreover, with regard to those and other convictions, she would appreciate more information on the sentences handed down and the facts of the cases.

According to the delegation's written responses, all detainees were subjected to a medical exam; however the details were not clear. Did this include persons in police custody? At what point could detainees request a medical exam? Could judges order a medical exam and if so how often had that been done, Ms. Gaer added. She pressed this point because, according to information before the Committee, detainees continued to have difficulty in getting access to a lawyer and in receiving medical attention. She mentioned a particular case in which detainees being held in pre-trial detention for two months had not received timely medical care or access to a lawyer and their families were barred from making complaints on their behalf.

Ms. Gaer said the Committee had heard that there was only one attorney per 10,000 inhabitants in Azerbaijan and asked what the Government was doing to remedy that situation.

Turning to the issue of prison visits, Ms. Gaer said that according to what she could see, the mechanism for visits set up by the Public Affairs Committee did not allow it to make unannounced visits; visits had to be notified to the prison authorities 24 hours ahead of time. She asked for clarification.

Ms. Gaer also asked about the situation of Chechens who had been arrested, allegedly in "kidnapping" style, and had been subject to summary trials. She had information that at least 24 Chechens had been illegally transferred to Russia, where they were under threat of torture. Moreover, she had heard that Chechens were not allowed to apply for refugee status in Azerbaijan and she asked for further details.

XUEXIAN WANG, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Azerbaijan, was quite impressed by the attention given by Azerbaijan to the implementation of the Committee's recommendations, with the establishment of a working group for that purpose, as well as the series of legal reforms undertaken.

Nevertheless, Mr. Wang wanted to know, with regard to training programmes for judicial and prisons personnel, whether regular evaluations were carried out on the effectiveness of that training, as well as further details on any training carried out for medical staff.

Mr. Wang also had some questions about the individual cases of deaths in police custody documented in the report. In two cases, detainees suspected of criminal offences who had not been in custody for long had committed suicide; this seemed to require a more in-depth investigation. One had involved a drug abuser who had only been in custody for seven days. It did not add up.

Mr. Wang also wished to know about provisions for financial reparations to be paid to torture victims, as well as provisions for their rehabilitation. Could the delegation cite any particular cases?

With regard to the statement made today, that some 9,000 persons had been released from detention according to an Amnesty Act of March 2009, Mr. Wang asked for some details about the crimes that had been committed by those persons. Were any of them convicted for the crime of torture?

Other Committee Experts asked questions with regard to action taken on complaints against law enforcement agents for action taken during events surrounding the 2003 and 2005 elections; concern about a lack of attention paid by judges to physical evidence of torture; reports that children were held in the same facilities with adults; the fact that children could be subjected to capital punishment; allegations that judges were not independent from the Government; cases of individuals held in solitary confinement for long periods, up to one year; restrictions on non-governmental organization activities in Azerbaijan, and whether that meant NGO cooperation in prison inspection was limited; domestic violence; human trafficking; and whether Azerbaijan planned to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

A number of Experts reverted to the issue of the need to conform the definition of torture in domestic legislation with that set out in the Convention.

Response by the Delegation to Questions by Experts

As the head of delegation would be returning to Azerbaijan this evening, the Committee began to hear answers from the delegation to questions put by Experts today.

The delegation, responding to the question of the definition of torture, said that when Azerbaijan had originally signed the Convention there had been no crime of torture in the Criminal Code. Since then, it had adopted a new Criminal Code, incorporating a crime of torture, which the Government felt fully covered all the elements set out in the Convention. However, nothing was perfect, and the law was constantly evolving. The delegation would therefore bring all the Committee's concerns and recommendations to the attention of the Government.

With specific regard to the addition of the element of discrimination to the crime of torture, the delegation said an amendment to the law to include that ground was currently being considered by the Parliament. It was hoped that they would have a positive response on that soon, so the crime of torture could be fully in line with the Convention in Azerbaijani law.

As for the 161 people convicted under article 133 (torment), those were cases of violence in the home, the delegation clarified.

In Azerbaijan some 20 non-governmental organizations worked with the penitentiary, 11 of them in the context of the Public Committee for Penitentiary Institutions, which was tasked with monitoring conditions in the prisons and making inspections.

Regarding information that 24-hour notice was needed before prisons could be visited, the delegation said that was absolutely not the case. The Public Committee for Penitentiary Institutions had free access and did not need to give any prior notice whatsoever to make a visit. For members of non-governmental organizations who were not on the Public Committee, however, the 24-hour notice was required as they did not have a standing invitation to do so.

The delegation also underscored that the ICRC had been able to visit prisons at their discretion for 10 years now.

Regarding the insufficient number of lawyers in the country, the Government was undertaking a number of measures and bar exams were being held to increase their number. According to the law, a criminal suspect had the right to a lawyer. Lawyers had the opportunity to spend as many hours as they liked with their clients, and could be present during interrogation and all phases of the investigation.

With reference to the case of the drug user who was detained on criminal charges and who died in his cell, the delegation said that that person had had full access to his lawyer at all times from his arrest and that he had received medical attention. There had been a full investigation undertaken and the case was before the courts now.

Regarding the case of detained Chechens, the delegation provided details of a number of cases. In one case, a Chechen who had been detained with weapons had been discovered to have refugee status. He was therefore not expelled from the country. In another case, a Chechen detainee was found to have an arrest warrant already issued. That individual was extradited to Dagestan (Russian Federation) where he was tried and convicted. Following his sentence, he was sent back to Azerbaijan where he currently faces charges. A number of other cases were mentioned where Chechen individuals had been wanted for crimes in Russia and had been extradited.

On domestic violence, the delegation noted that the Committee on the Family, Women and Children had been established in 2006. The Committee had elaborated a bill on domestic violence, which was now under consideration by the Parliament and was currently the subject of discussion by the public, where it did not receive full support yet. Some of the social measures envisaged by the bill included paying subsidies to victims of domestic violence, providing rehabilitation for them and creating shelters for them. The Committee was also working to prevent domestic violence and violence against women, including through awareness-raising campaigns. A strategy and action plan on gender violence had been elaborated. The Fund against Violence and the Committee had also organized seminars on human trafficking.


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