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of Human Rights Defenders

9 December 2011

Intigam Aliyev was detained for more than 24 hours at the Istanbul airport since Tuesday evening, 6 December 2011. He reported that he had been beaten by the immigration officer twice before he was deported to Baku, late evening of 7 December. He arrived to Baku early in the morning of 8 December.

At the airport in Istanbul, on his return to Baku after participating at the Civil Society Parallel Event, organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vilnius, he was accused of insulting the airport officer. The incident occurred when Mr. Aliyev was refused his passport to be returned at the checkpoint and, opposing to that, allegedly insulted the officer. As a result, he was detained for more than 24 hours and faced beatings and deportation from Turkey.

Intigam Aliyev (right) immediately informed the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) that he was kept in detention at the Istanbul airport without any further information or access to a lawyer. HRHF immediately got in contact with Ozlem Dalkiran from the Helsinki Citizen Assembly in Istanbul, which ensured that the lawyer Hali Kocabas would assist him at the airport. Integam Aliyev was not provided access to the lawyer before 01.22 at night. In the afternoon of 7 December 2011, the lawyer was not allowed to meet Aliyev.

Late in the evening of 7 December Aliyev contacted HRHF and reported that, whilst held in custody, he was beaten and injured, and repeatedly threatened not to speak out. First he was beaten by the airport immigration officer at checkpoint at the airport on 7 December at about 21h. Later, he was beaten by the same person, where 7 men in civil clothes were present. One of them told the others: “While beating, try not to leave any traces of strike on his body.” Nobody tried to hinder them from such actions.

Intigam Aliyev was deported on 7 December 2011, and arrived to Baku early in the morning of 8 December 2011. He was told that a criminal case has been raised against him for insulting a police officer but did not receive any written information on that matter.

On 7 December 2011, HRHF sent a letter to the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Turkish Ambassador to Norway, as well as to the Turkish Permanent Delegation to the United Nations at Geneva and informed the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. The Netherlands Helsinki Committee contacted the Turkish mission to OSCE. We called upon the Turkish authorities to ensure that Intigam Aliyev would be released and that no measures will be taken that would prohibit Intigam Aliyev from entering or transiting through Turkey in the future.

ODIHR Focal Point contacted the Turkish mission of OSCE when they learned about the beatings. The OSCE Baku staff and several human rights defenders and journalists met Integam Aliyev at the Baku airport upon his arrival.

On 9 December 2011, HRHF sent an appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment calling for urgent action in response to detention and beating of Intigam Aliyev. 

Download the letters to the Turkish institutions and to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs below.

Information about Intigam Aliyev

Intigam Aliyev, a human rights lawyer, holds an Azerbaijani passport and lives in Baku. He is the head of the Legal Education Society, a civil organization that seeks for development of legal consciousness and legal culture in the society, and the respect for human rights in Azerbaijan, and is a partner NGO of the Human Rights House Azerbaijan, the Human Rights House Foundation and a member of the South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders.