Azerbaijan: International Scrutiny of Farhad Aliyev Case Grows

More than a year after his arrest, the case of Farhad Aliyev, the former minister of economic development charged with plotting a coup on the eve of Azerbaijan's 2005 parliamentary elections, has yet to come to court. Meanwhile, international publicity for the case is growing.

On October 25, United States Senator John McCain (Republican – Arizona) sent a letter to Azerbaijan's ambassador to Washington that expressed concern about the delay in granting Farhad Aliyev a public hearing. The senator, an influential member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services with an interest in human rights issues in Central Asia and the Caucasus, urged the Azerbaijani government "to follow the letter and spirit" of international agreements it has signed that call for the right to due process and to political opposition, and for the humane treatment of prisoners.

"I urge your government to, at a minimum, formally charge the Aliyev brothers (if the government continues to suspect them of criminal activity), fully inform them of all charges, provide access to evidence against them, afford full access to legal counsel of their choice, and provide immediate, unfettered access to appropriate medical practitioners," the letter read.

Farhad Aliyev and his brother, Rafiq, then president of the Azpetrol oil company, were arrested in October 2005 on suspicion of plotting a coup against President Ilham Aliyev. [For details, see the EurasiaNet Insight.] An accusation was later brought against Farhad Aliyev by a former interior ministry official on trial for a string of kidnappings and murders, that he had ordered the 2005 death of journalist Elmar Huseynov. [For details, see the EurasiaNet Insight.] Both Aliyevs have denied the charges.

Senator McCain is one of several US Congress members who is querying the Azerbaijani government about Farhad Aliyev's case, according to Yelena Postnikova, a spokesperson for Azerbaijan Democracy Initiative, a Washington, DC-based organization known for its advocacy of Farhad Aliyev's case. "While the Azerbaijani government issues new charges against