AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH COMMITTEE TO DEFEND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAKU 001255 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AJ SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH COMMITTEE TO DEFEND FARHAD ALIYEV REF: BAKU 1165 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse per 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) Summary: During an October 11 meeting, Jamil Hasanli, Head of the Committee to Defend Farhad Aliyev's Rights, told the Ambassador that the former Minister had been arrested on coup-plotting charges in October 2005 as part of a Russian intelligence effort to sway public opinion in the run-up to Azerbaijan's 2005 parliamentary elections. Hasanli and lead defense attorney Elton Guliyev argued that the GOAJ launched its corruption case against Aliyev and his 17 co-defendants only after it became clear that coup-plotting charges were untenable and the 18-month pre-trial detention period was about to expire. Hasanli outlined the Committee's concerns about the handling of the case and shared a 468-page document outlining alleged due process violations. Hasanli argued that Aliyev and his co-defendants were arrested for political reasons, and stated that the Council of Europe had already declared Farhad Aliyev a political prisoner (a claim the local Council of Europe Representative says is untrue). The Ambassador noted that the U.S. supports human rights and respect for due process in every country, including Azerbaijan, and said that the Embassy will continue to follow Aliyev's case with interest. She offered to meet Hasanli again after the verdict is issued, which presumably will happen in the next few weeks. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On October 11, the Ambassador met with Jamil Hasanli, Head of the Committee to Defend Farhad Aliyev's Rights (and opposition Member of Parliament),at Hasanli's request. Hasanli was accompanied by Elton Guliyev, lead defense attorney for the Aliyev brothers, and Alovsat Aliyev, brother of Farhad and Rafiq Aliyev. Hasanli, who has met regularly with emboffs to discuss the Aliyev case, said that he wanted to thank the Ambassador for the USG's leading role in supporting democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan, and to brief her about specific due process concerns in the Aliyev brothers' case. ¶3. (C) Reviewing the timeline of Farhad Aliyev's arrest and detention, Hasanli said that although Farhad Aliyev and his 17 co-defendants had been arrested and detained in October 2005 on coup-plotting charges, the GOAJ has not taken any action to investigate or prosecute the group on these charges. Instead, Hasanli said, the GOAJ levied new charges with respect to corruption against the group on March 5, 2007, just days before the maximum 18 months pre-trial detention period was due to expire. (Farhad Aliyev was arrested on October 19, 2005; Rafiq Aliyev was detained two days later.) ¶4. (C) Hasanli noted that in his final testimony, Farhad Aliyev alleged that Russian FSB intelligence officers played a key role in his arrest. Hasanli said that, as a Member of Parliament, he personally could say with "full confidence" that Russian intelligence agents had been brought to Azerbaijan to help with Aliyev's arrest. According to Hasanli, Russian intelligence agents were sent to Azerbaijan in the run-up to November 2005 parliamentary elections in order to spread rumors that the U.S. was supporting an "orange revolution" designed to bring Farhad Aliyev to power. Hasanli said that Farhad Aliyev was pressured many times to implicate USG officials in this plot but refused to do so. Hasanli characterized Farhad Aliyev as a victim of the broader struggle between the U.S. and Russia for influence within the post-Soviet space. ¶5. (C) Hasanli said that GOAJ authorities are violating Farhad Aliyev's basic human rights by denying him access to appropriate medical care. During his nearly two years in detention, Hasanli said that Aliyev has not had access to cardiologists for his pre-existing heart problems. When Aliyev has complained of chest pains, Hasanli said that the GOAJ has provided dermatologists and psychiatrists to examine him. Hasanli said that he has faced public backlash for his efforts to raise concerns about Aliyev's health problems and access to medical care, and that a group of 40 Azerbaijani physicians has organized a campaign against him. (Comment: ICRC Representatives, who have visited Aliyev in detention, report that he is receiving adequate medical care and, in fact, has access to better medical treatment than ordinary Azerbaijani detainees.) ¶6. (C) Hasanli believes that the Aliyev brothers' trial has been flawed with numerous irregularities. He noted that the BAKU 00001255 002 OF 003 international community initially was denied access to the trial, and that no technical equipment has been allowed in to record the trial's proceedings thereby making the trial, in his view, a de facto closed trial. Hasanli alleged that witnesses for the prosecution had been coached at the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) before giving testimony, as evidenced by their ready answers to the prosecution's questions. Hasanli also pointed to the fact that the PGO investigated Farhad Aliyev's role in the privatization of state property only during the years 2003-2005 as evidence that the GOAJ was not taking a serious look at corruption charges, as Aliyev had been responsible for privatization during the years 2001-2005 yet the GOAJ was not investigating that entire period. Hasanli noted that as Minister of Economic Development, Farhad Aliyev had overseen the privatization of more than 50,000 entities, yet the PGO had investigated the privatization of only 162. ¶7. (C) Hasanli argued that Rafiq Aliyev has been arrested and prosecuted simply because he is Farhad Aliyev's brother. Hasanli said that USD 30,000 in cash had been planted on Rafiq Aliyev as he was attempting to leave Baku in October 2005, noting that Aliyev had cleared all security checks and was detained as he was boarding a plane. The GOAJ, according to Hasanli, has refused to share electronic evidence from various airport security checks that Hasanli argued would clear Rafiq Aliyev. Hasanli said there was no evidence -- either electronic or forensic -- to prove that Rafiq Aliyev had physical possession of that cash before he was detained. ¶8. (C) Hasanli believes that the Aliyev brothers were arrested for political reasons. Farhad Aliyev, according to Hasanli, was fighting for liberalization and strengthened anti-corruption measures, and was fighting against pro-Russian forces in the Azerbaijani government. Hasanli said that Farhad Aliyev had revealed and reported to President Aliyev that more than USD 3 billion was being stolen from the state budget every year. Hasanli stated that the Council of Europe had announced that the Aliyev brothers are political prisoners (a claim that the local Council of Europe representative says is untrue). ¶9. (C) Characterizing the charges against Aliyev as "broad and absurd," lead defense attorney Elton Guliyev said that Aliyev's 17 co-defendants are being prosecuted because of their links to Farhad Aliyev. Guliyev said that the group's arrest and detention is illegal, and that the GOAJ created the corruption case when it realized the coup-plotting charges were untenable. The only purpose of the GOAJ's corruption case, Guliyev said, is to hide the political motivation behind Aliyev's arrest. Farhad Aliyev was a reformer whose meetings with western officials were "interpreted against him;" like Hasanli, Guliyev argued that Russian intelligence agents created stories of a coup attempt in order to sway public opinion in the run-up to the 2005 parliamentary elections. Guliyev pointed to press stories of Farhad Aliyev's "one-on-one" meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as evidence of Russian SIPDIS disinformation against Aliyev. (Aliyev met Albright at a large reception with several dozen other guests.) Aliyev was arrested on coup-plotting charges following a "political disagreement," Guliyev said, and the GOAJ only started to build its corruption case against Aliyev and his co-defendants after their arrest. ¶10. (C) Hasanli asked that the U.S. use its influence to help the Aliyev brothers, imprisoned journalists and Azerbaijan's political prisoners. He asked that the Aliyev brothers' "special, unjust and illegal treatment" be highlighted in the State Department's annual report on human rights. Alovsat Aliyev, thanking the Ambassador for the USG's interest in this case, repeated these requests and also asked for the opportunity to meet the Ambassador 15-20 days after the verdict. Hasanli handed the Ambassador several documents outlining the Committee's concerns, including a 468-page document outlining alleged due process violations. ¶12. (C) The Ambassador thanked Hasanli for the presentation, and said that Hasanli is correct that the U.S. strongly supports human rights in every country, including Azerbaijan, where human rights and political reform are a core part of our bilateral relationship. Noting that U.S. Embassy observers have been closely following the Aliyev brothers' trial, the Ambassador said that the U.S. is concerned by any reports of human rights violations in any country. The U.S. believes that every citizen in every country enjoys BAKU 00001255 003 OF 003 fundamental human rights, including due process and the right to a free and fair trial. She said the U.S. will continue to follow this case and continue to advocate for human rights and due process. The Ambassador said that she would be happy to meet again with Hasanli and to hear the Committee's further views on the case. ¶13. (SBU) In a separate conversation following the Ambassador's meeting, Guliyev and Hasanli told emboffs that they had absolutely no indication from the judge when a verdict might be issued in the case, although they expected it to come in the next few weeks. Guliyev also confirmed that he had filed all of the necessary briefs at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding due process and human rights violations during the pre-trial period and said that he expects the case to be heard in the next two or three months. Aliyev's attorneys plan to file separately with the ECHR regarding violations during the trial once a verdict has been issued and the domestic appeals process has been exhausted. We continue to monitor the case and will report developments. DERSE