PRESIDENTIAL PARDON DISAPPOINTS HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000270 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR EUR/CARC AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM AJ SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL PARDON DISAPPOINTS HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Joan Polaschik for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). ¶1. (SBU) President Aliyev pardoned 59 prisoners on March 18, in a step that was widely expected by local human rights activists. The pardon is linked to the Novruz holiday, which is the most important holiday for the majority of Azerbaijanis. In the past, President Ilham Aliyev and former President Heydar Aliyev have granted similar pardons to coincide with this holiday. ¶2. (C) Human rights activists were disappointed by the pardon because it did not include any journalists or high-profile cases, such as Eynulla Fatullayev, Sakit Zahidov, Ganimat Zahidov, Mushfig Huseynov, Ruslan Bashirli, and Rasim Akbarov. Emin Huseynov, a reliable and balanced Embassy contact from the Institute for Reporters Freedom, told us the pardon was "superficial" to create the perception that Azerbaijan is addressing the problem of suspect cases of imprisoned critics of the government. Leyla Yunus, who is strongly critical of the government, was cited by Turan News Agency as saying the pardon fails to address the problem of political prisoners, just like other recent pardons. Rana Sadaddinova characterized the pardon as "depressing," while Saida Qocamanli, who tends to be softer in her criticism of the government, said the decree was "unsatisfactory." ¶3. (SBU) While the pardon did not include any high-profile cases, it included five individuals identified by human rights activist Leyla Yunus as "political prisoners." They are: Asif Huseynov, Etibar Allahverdiyev, Nariman Ismayilov, Rasim Taghiyev, and Gadir Musayev. With the exception of Musayev, these four were imprisoned in connection with alleged coup plots. Musayev, who served as an election official in 2005, was charged with narcotics possession after he reportedly refused to falsify election results in the Bilasuvar district. (Human rights activists differ on the definition of "political prisoner" in Azerbaijan and maintain divergent lists.) ¶4. (C) Comment: Given the increasingly intense discussion within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) regarding political prisoners in Azerbaijan (upcoming septel),many observers hoped that the GOAJ would issue a more far-reaching pardon that would release prominent prisoners. Given the low-level nature of prisoners included in this decree, President Aliyev,s March 18 pardon alone likely will prove insufficient to stave off the appointment of a PACE Special Rapporteur on political prisoners, widely expected in June. The GOAJ has several opportunities to issue additional pardons before June -- including the upcoming 85th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev,s birth and the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the first independent Repbulic of Azerbaijan -- and we expect the issue of political prisoners to remain hotly debated in the run-up to the June PACE session. DERSE