US State Department announces its report on human rights in Azerbaijan

As APA informs, the reports states that the following human rights problems were reported in Azerbaijan: restricted right of citizens to peacefully change their government, torture and beating of persons in custody; arbitrary arrest and detention; particularly of political opponents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; police impunity; lengthy pre-trial detention; pervasive corruption in the judiciary; some restrictions of privacy rights; periodic interference with media freedom;excessive use of force to disperse demonstrations; limited instances of violence and societal discrimination against women; trafficking in persons; limited workers rights.

The report says that Armenian forces continued to occupy some of the countrys territory, including Nagorno Karabakh. The government did not exercise any control over developments in territories occupied by Armenian forces. The report also touched on the arrest of Haji Mammadov, former official of the Interior Ministry and the murder of the journalist Elmar Huseynov.

It is also stated in the report that during the year the government did not punish MIA officials for the beating, torture, and verbal abuse of persons detained in the aftermath of the 2003 presidential election.

The report also touched on arrest of Yeni Fikir opposition youth activists Ruslan Bashirli, Said Nuriyev, Ramin Tagiyev as well as former state officials Akif Muradverdiyev, Ali Insanov, Farhad Aliyev, Fikrat Yusifov, Fikrat Sadigov, Rafig Aliyev and academic Eldar Salayev.

According to the report, although the law provides for an independent judiciary, in practice judges did not function independently of the executive branch. The judiciary was corrupt and inefficient. The executive branch exerts a strong influence over the judiciary.

The report also says that a large number of opposition and independent media outlets operated during the year. The print media enjoyed more freedom than the broadcast media and expressed a wide variety of views on government policies. However, most broadcast media adhered to a pro-government line in their news coverage. There were over 40 active independent newspapers and magazines and 23 television and 12 radio stations. There also were 10 national state newspapers and 80 newspapers funded by city or district level officials. In contrast to pro-government newspapers, the distribution of many opposition newspapers was limited to the capital, and their circulation was low.

Harassment and violence against individual journalists continued. The Media Council, an independent NGO, reported that 40 journalists faced physical attack or harassment during the 6-month period preceding the November parliamentary election.

During the year the government expelled four students from Baku State University, the State Economic University, and the Pedagogical University due to their political activities in support of opposition parties.

The report said that the 6 November parliamentary elections did not meet a number of the countrys OSCE commitments and COE standards for democratic elections. Local executive authorities frequently misused administrative resources to the benefit of pro-government candidates. Local authorities also restricted freedom of assembly for opposition candidates. Police used disproportionate force to disrupt rallies.

State and private television news coverage of the campaign period disproportionately favored pro-government candidates, according to the report.

The report also touched on President Ilham Aliyevs decrees on improvement of election practices and use of finger inking procedure in voting. It was stated that the government complied with the Electoral Code.