Azerbaijani authorities and human rights activists are once again discussing the so-called ‘Tartar case’ of mass torture of Azerbaijani servicemen. In 2017, more than 100 soldiers were tortured in a military unit where they were required to confess to spying for Armenia, many of whom were killed. Four years later, new details appear, BBC reports.
The Azerbaijani authorities do not comment on the accusations made by the officials, and urge them not to dig into the past. Human rights activists claim that the practice of torture has not been eradicated and will continue if everything remains the same. Those remaining alive hope that the perpetrators will be punished.
The ‘Tartar case’ includes cases of mass torture that took place in May-June 2017 in the Tartar region of Azerbaijan. The State Security Service of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a joint statement stating that servicemen are being detained on charges of spying for the Armenian special services. No names were given. All official information on this topic was limited to that.
So far, human rights activists have learned of more than 100 military officers who have been identified by local courts as victims of torture. Eleven of them died as a result of torture. In addition to these 100, 24 people were sentenced to 12-20 years in prison for high treason. Human rights activists are convinced that the confessions were ‘received’ during the torture. Twelve of the torturers were sentenced to 3.5-10 years in prison.
In April of this year, the cases of the tortured were returned to the Court of Appeals, and the cases of 10 victims reached the ECHR in April of this year.
Human rights activists are calling on the authorities to hold a new Tartar trial to pardon those convicted of treason.
According to them and political scientists, the interest of the Azerbaijani authorities in the ‘Tartar case’ is due to the domestic political struggle between the security forces. Human rights activist Leyla Yunus does not rule out that President Ilham Aliyev wants to use the ‘Tartar case’ to oust a group from the security forces. “I think that is the reason why everyone has started talking about the Tartar case now. And when we started talking about it in 2017, there was a stony silence,” said the human rights activist.
In recent months, the Azerbaijani media has begun to talk more often about these barbarities. New videos are appearing on YouTube, the local press is publishing new material about the incidents, but they only support the position of the government.
Representatives of the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture have visited Azerbaijan six times since 2004. In 2018, the Committee concluded that “in Azerbaijan, torture and other forms of ill-treatment by the police, other law enforcement agencies, the army, are systemic, widespread, and not eradicated.”
