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Gozal Bayramli

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Gozal Bayramli
Born
Gözəl Oruc qızı Bayramli

(1972-04-27)27 April 1972
Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Died7 October 2020(2020-10-07) (aged 48)
Baku, Azerbaijan
NationalityAzerbaijani
Occupation(s)Opposition leader, human rights activist

Gozal Bayramli, also translated as Gozel Bayramli, (Azerbaijani: Gözəl Oruc qızı Bayramlı, 27 April 1962 – 7 October 2020) was a politician of Azerbaijan, member and deputy chairman of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP) and a former political prisoner.

Life and career

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Bayramli was born in Baku on 27 April 1962.

For many years she was a member and deputy chairman of the Popular Front Party, which contributed to the formation of Azerbaijan's first government in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union, until Heydar Aliyev, the father of the current president of Azerbaijan, came to power in 1993. Since then Gozal Bayramli became one of the prominent women opposition figures advocating for democracy and a human rights activist, defending the rights of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. She was detained for political activism several times for short periods and then released.[1]

Political prisoner

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Bayramli was detained by the State Border Services on May 25, 2017, when crossing the border from Georgia into Azerbaijan, returning home after medical treatment abroad. Authorities charged Bayramli with smuggling undeclared cash. Bayramli denied all charges, claiming they were politically motivated and insisted that the banknotes were planted in her bag.[2]

In her testimony in court Baywamli stated that in October 2016, the security forces had summoned her to the Main Directorate of Organized Crime Department and threatened her with arrest if she refused to stop her "anti-state activities". She linked these threats with her defence of political prisoners in the "Nardaran case" and mentioned that soon after the conversation, she had started receiving threats over the phone and had reported it to law enforcement, but the latter did not objectively investigate the threats.[3]

On January 23, 2018, by the decision of the Gazakh District Court, she was sentenced to 3 years in prison.[4] Her arrest coincided with another arrest made by the Azerbaijani authorities of an opposition journalist and a human rights activist - Afgan Mukhtarli. Both Bayramli and Mukhtarli were arrested in May 2017 at different border crossing points with neighbouring Georgia and were sentenced to prison for smuggling. Both arrests and subsequent imprisonments received widespread international criticism.[5][6][7][8]

Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning the crackdown against critics of the regime and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to free both detainees.[9][10] They were also considered prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International[11][12]

The US State Department issued a statement condemning the verdict.[13][14] The EU released a statement saying: "a review by Azerbaijan of any and all cases of incarceration related to the exercise of fundamental rights, including the freedom of expression, and immediate release of all of those concerned is urgent."[15] PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights also expressed concern about the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan and in particular the imprisonment of Gozel Bayramli.[16]

After serving two years in prison she was granted presidential pardon in March 2019 ahead of the Novruz celebrations, along with 400 prisoners, including 51 political prisoners.[17][18]

Death

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After her release from prison, Bayramli sought medical treatment at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany and was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. She had suffered numerous injuries as well as lack of nutrition and medical treatment during her time in prison. She died on October 7, 2020, in her house in Baku.[19]

During her funeral service Azerbaijani authorities detained an opposition journalist on charges of violating the quarantine rules, who was later released. She reported that her phone, which was confiscated by police during her arrest, was not returned to her at the time of her release.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "APFP deputy chairman Gozal Bayramli released". Apa.az. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  2. ^ "Prominent Azerbaijani Opposition Figure Jailed On Smuggling Charges". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  3. ^ Узел, Кавказский. "Байрамлы назвала свой арест местью властей Азербайджана". Кавказский Узел. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  4. ^ "Azerbaijan sentences opposition activist to 3 years for 'smuggling money'". OC Media. 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  5. ^ "Azerbaijan: Leading opposition politician freed from prison". Norwegian Helsinki Committee. 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  6. ^ Freedom in the World 2018 (The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties). New York, NY, and Washington, DC: Freedom house. 2019. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-5381-1203-8.
  7. ^ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, The Hague (July 2020). "General Country of Origin Information Report for Azerbaijan" (PDF). www.ecoi.net.
  8. ^ "Gozel Bayramli". #SetThemFree. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  9. ^ "Azerbaijan Courts Convict Two Outspoken Government Critics". Human Rights Watch. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  10. ^ Human Rights Watch (2019). WORLD REPORT 2019 (Events of 2018) (PDF). United States of America. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-60980-884-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ "Prisoner of Conscience: Gozel Bayramli". www.freiheit.org. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  12. ^ "PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE ANALYSIS Political Prisoners from East and Southeast Europe" (PDF). Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  13. ^ "U.S. Troubled by Sentencing of Gozel Bayramli". www.turan.az. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  14. ^ "Statement on the Abduction and Arrest of Afgan Mukhtarli (June 3)". U.S. Embassy in Georgia. 2017-06-03. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  15. ^ "EU Urges Azerbaijan To Release Detained Opposition Figures". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  16. ^ Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (2017). "Azerbaijan's Chairmanship of the Council of Europe: what follow-up on respect for human rights?".
  17. ^ "Azerbaijan president pardons jailed activists, opponents". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  18. ^ "Азербайджан: массовое освобождение политзаключенных". Prism UA. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  19. ^ "Condolences from the ISHR on the death of Gozel Bayramli". International Society for Human Rights (ISHR). Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  20. ^ "Фатима Мовламлы". Справедливость для журналистов (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
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