ELECTION MONITORING CENTER DEREGISTERED AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000454 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM EAID AJ SUBJECT: ELECTION MONITORING CENTER DEREGISTERED AND ANNULLED REF: A. BAKU 128 ¶B. BAKU 412 Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION DONALD LU PER 1.4(B,D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On May 14, a Baku court ordered the deregistration and annulment of the Election Monitoring Center (EMC),based on an appeal filed by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). It is unclear how the MOJ will attempt to enforce the decision, as it is an unprecedented step in Azerbaijan. The EMC intends to continue working unless it is physically prevented from doing so, including fielding volunteers to monitor the October presidential election. The OSCE Baku Office and the British Embassy plan to continue financially supporting the EMC, and we will continue to work with USAID and NDI to do the same. We also will work with NDI and the EMC to continue planning our Parallel Vote Tabulation for the October election. Suggested press guidance on the EMC's deregistration and annulment is in para ¶8. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) On May 14, the Khattai District Court ordered the deregistration and annulment of the EMC. The Court's decision was based on an appeal filed by the MOJ requesting the actions. Because the decision to shut down an NGO is unprecedented in Azerbaijan, it is unclear how the MOJ will attempt to enforce the decision. The EMC intends to appeal the decision through the European Court of Human Rights once it exhausts the domestic appeals process, and will continue working unless it is physically prevented from doing so. In October's presidential election, the EMC will conduct as robust a monitoring mission as possible, creating an "initiative group" and registering its volunteers as individual observers, as it did in past elections while functioning as an unregistered organization. (NOTE: The MOJ registered the EMC in February after the EMC had submitted seven applications for registration since 2001. The MOJ's decision to register the EMC followed two years of intense USG advocacy - ref a.) ¶3. (SBU) Judge Tofig Pashayev presided over the court proceedings, which began on May 5. (COMMENT: Another judge had been assigned to the case, but claiming he was "sick," Pashayev took over. Pashayev, formerly of the Court of Grave Crimes, is notorious among domestic human rights monitors for his rule-of-law violations.) At each trial session, many international observers were present, including Emboff, representatives from the British, Norwegian, and German Embassies, the OSCE, NDI, ABA-CEELI, and IFES. A local NGO, the Institute for Reporter Freedom and Safety, and several journalists also covered the trial. Pashayev allowed extra chairs to be brought into the very small courtroom to accommodate observers. ¶4. (SBU) The MOJ's appeal to deregister the EMC was based on a technical issue which was not a problem at the time of registration: the fact that an individual listed as a founder on previous applications for registration was not listed on the final application. The MOJ's appeal to annul the EMC, which the defense argued the MOJ did not have the authority to do, was based on the EMC's failure to notify the MOJ of a change of address and to register its regional branches. The lawyer representing the MOJ in court, Afghan Bakishov, did not provide substantive responses to the defense's questions, simply repeating the points listed in the MOJ's appeal (ref b). According to Bakishov, article 59 of the Civil Code gives the MOJ the authority to appeal to annul an NGO. (NOTE: While the article provides for cancellation of a "legal entity" in the instance of "legal violations," it is very broad and does not reference NGOs or the MOJ, making it, in our assessment, a weak argument.) ¶5. (SBU) The EMC's lawyer, Intigam Aliyev, filed a counter-claim against the MOJ, demanding 60,000 AZN (approximately USD 70,588) for the MOJ's failure to accept five of the EMC's application registrations over two years, and for returning the EMC's registration documents many times, citing technical problems. In the May 14 decision, the court rejected the EMC's counter-claim. In addition to claiming that the MOJ did not have the authority to appeal to annul an NGO, the defense argued that in order for the MOJ to appeal to revoke an NGO's registration, the MOJ must first send a minimum of three warning letters. Bakishov admitted that the MOJ had not sent any warning letters, but argued that the law stipulates the MOJ may, but is not obligated to, issue warning letters. ¶6. (SBU) After the court proceedings against EMC had started, NDI Baku reported that on May 6, representatives of the Executive Commissioner's Offices in Ganja, Goychay, and Jalilabad summoned the EMC's regional volunteers, asking them questions about their work with the EMC. In Jalilabad, the EMC's regional volunteer is also a teacher, and the director of the school where he teaches told him that two men representing local authorities had visited the school and asked questions about the volunteer. The same day, NDI Baku reported that two individuals purporting to represent an unspecified government body entered the premises of the EMC's central office in Baku, in order to determine who physically was present in the building. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: We are concerned by the court's decision to deregister and shut down the EMC, Azerbaijan's largest and most experienced domestic monitoring organization, particularly as the MOJ's decision to register the organization had been one of the very few positive steps in a climate of democratic backsliding. We are raising our concerns with all levels of GOAJ contacts. We will continue working with USAID and NDI to support the EMC, and understand that the OSCE Baku Office and the British Embassy likewise will continue their financial support to the EMC. NDI and the EMC assure us that they are committed to conducting the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) as outlined in our election assistance plans; we will work with them and the GOAJ to make sure that the PVT proceeds. ¶8. (U) The Embassy has used the following guidance to respond to press questions today on this issue, and recommends the Department to incorporate this language into its press guidance on the issue. Begin text. The Election Monitoring Center is a key Azerbaijani NGO that has fielded hundreds of election monitors for eight Azerbaijani elections, as well as elections in other countries as a member of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations. The EMC's formal registration in February 2008 after several applications was a positive step. Azerbaijan is committed to conducting a free and fair election this October. The ability of domestic monitors, like the EMC's observers, to conduct their work unfettered is critical to the fair and free conduct of the election. In light of that, the decision today to deregister and close the EMC is a disappointing step backwards. We urge the relevant Azerbaijani authorities and the EMC to work closely together to address the technical issues that led to the EMC's deregistration and re-register the organization so that it can continue to make contributions to Azerbaijan's democratic development. The U.S. looks forward to supporting a strong election monitoring effort in Azerbaijan, and hopes Azerbaijani observers will join international monitoring teams we have invited to observe the U.S. election, including OSCE/ODIHR. End text of statement. DERSE