Azerbaijan: leader of opposition party cannot get his foreign passport

For five years already, Ali Kerimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), cannot receive his foreign passport, and, therefore, cannot go abroad. This point, as reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, was discussed on February 14 at the roundtable held at the office of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

"The refusal of the authorities to issue a foreign passport to Ali Kerimli makes it impossible for him to go abroad and participate in international events," said Natig Gyulakhmedoglu, press secretary of the PPFA.

The formal reason for the refusal is the criminal case initiated against Kerimli back in 1994. In the spring of 1994 Kerimli was detained during an unauthorized opposition rally, and, according to the militia, a grenade was found in his pocket. Soon after that Kerimli was released, but the criminal case was not closed.

Despite it, Mr Kerimli was twice elected an MP of Azerbaijan - in 1995 and 2000, and three times received a foreign passport.

However, in 2006, when his previous passport expired, the local MIA refused to grant him a new one, referring to the 1994 criminal case.

According to Abulfaz Gurbanly, leader of the youth organization of the PFPA, the true reason for the refusal to issue a passport was an invitation of Kerimli, as the leader of the opposition party, to the January 2006 session of the PACE, where he toughly criticized the Azerbaijani authorities for "falsifying the parliamentary elections of 2005."

In the opinion of Rasul Jafarov, a human rights activist, the non-issuance of passport to Kerimli is a serious offence. It is a violation of the rights of citizens to free movement and free choice of residence, he added.

"Even the existence of a criminal case against a citizen is no ground for refusal to issue a foreign passport to him. Moreover, the investigation can't continue for 17 years: the case should be either sent to the court or stopped," said lawyer Vidadi Iskanderov, who had worked for many years at the Prosecutor's Office.

In seeking his foreign passport Ali Kerimli went through all the judicial instances of Azerbaijan - the District Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court; and everywhere his claims were rejected.

Currently, Mr Kerimli's complaint is processed by the European Court of Human Rights. In this regard, the roundtable participants decided to address the Strasbourg Court asking to consider his application out of turn.

The press services of the MIA and the General Prosecutor's Office refused to make comments, giving approximately the same answer that Kerimli had all the chances to appeal against the actions of the investigation at judicial bodies, and the courts had recognized his claims as ungrounded.