Azerbaijan: Intiqam Aliyev appeals his arrest

Another authoritative Azerbaijani human rights activist, was arrested in Baku on 8 August. Intiqam Aliyev is the head of the Legal Education Society, whose activity was checked within the framework of a criminal case against local and foreign NGOs.

By decision of the Nasimi District Court of Baku Intiqam Aliyev was arrested for 3 months on the charges which have been also presented to a number of other human rights activists working in unregistered NGOS: tax evasion (Article 213.1 of the Criminal Code), abuse of power, resulting in serious consequences (Article 308.2) and illegal business activities (Article 192.2).

Before his arrest, prosecutors raided the apartment of the human rights defender and the office of the organization headed by him. Previously, he was summoned to the Investigation Department of the Serious Crimes Unit of the General Prosecutor's Office as a witness. According to the Azerbaijani service of Radio Liberty, the recent activities of the Legal Education Society were checked the Tax Ministry, Aliyev's bank accounts were arrested within the frameworks of the criminal proceedings against local and foreign NGOs held by the General Prosecutor's Office.

According to the lawyer, Intiqam Aliyev has denied the accusations and said that his arrest was politically motivated. August 11 he filed an appeal against the court decision, the date of consideration of which will be known in the coming days.

It should be noted that the Azerbaijani lawyer Intiqam Aliyev has been engaged in human rights activities for many years, including the protection of citizens' rights through legal mechanisms of the European Court of Human Rights. He participated in the preparation of more than 300 complaints to the ECHR and has acted as counsel in more than 200 cases. In 40 cases, the Strasbourg Court has restored the rights of his clients. In addition, he actively provides legal assistance to the arrested peaceful protesters. Intiqam Aliyev is an expert on human rights law and a number of international organizations – the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation GTZ and others. In 2013 Intiqam Aliyev was awarded the Homo Homini for his contribution to civil rights in Azerbaijan.