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Since early 2010s, groups and countries that Azerbaijani government sees as friends have changed dramatically with official state propaganda promoting a negative attitude about the West, David Kramer, former assistant Secretary of State and senior director for human rights and democracy at the McCain Institute for International Leadership, told Turan agency.

In an interview with TURAN’s Washington D.C. correspondent, Kramer, former president of Freedom House, also spoke about current human rights concerns in Azerbaijan and their impacts on the country’s relations with the West. He said what happened in Ukraine scared the government in Baku. Therefore, the Aliyev government decided to crack down on its own people to make sure that similar kind of scenario did not unfold inside Azerbaijan. They feel that they can get away with this kind of behavior, that they can engage in crackdown on civil society, arresting journalists and activists, and they are not paying any price. “I think President Aliyev and others have moved on from a feeling of resentment that they are not treated as part of the Euro-Atlantic community, they’ve gotten over the snugs, but they don’t see any incentive to change their behavior,” Kramer said.

The former assistant Secretary of State argues that Azerbaijan still needs the U.S. and Europe. He says he favors the position of targeted sanctions to act as deterrence for the crackdown there. Kramer says the situation in Azerbaijan is much worse than it is in Belarus, where all of the political prisoners were released. “Belarus, as you know, been called a last dictatorship in Europe. I think that title could easily be applied to President Aliyev given the situation in Baku,” Kramer highlights.

The crackdown has gone much worse recently as the authorities seem to continue going after even western organizations, RFE/RL reporters for example, Kramer points out.

He believes many things depend on the West. “Is the West is going to take a firm position and decide that ‘enough is enough’ and the West needs to pose a policy that would impose consequences for what’s happening inside the country? So far I don’t see that the West is going to do that,” he says. According to the former assistant Secretary of State, the members of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who pay attention to Azerbaijan seem to be changing their attitude becoming more critical and more concerned about what is happening. The letters coming from Congress to President Aliyev, to the Obama Administration expressing serious concern in the recent months prove that. Commenting on the official Baku’s statements that they are not afraid of sanctions, Kramer said, “The sanctions that I’ve advocated -- and others have -- for Azerbaijan would be targeted in fashion, which is say that they would start with judges and prosecutors and others involved in the investigations of cases involving political prisoners, and then as necessary work the way up to higher levels in the government. I do think that the people in Azerbaijan would be concerned about this.”

Kramer highlights that Azerbaijan needs United States more than the U.S. needs Azerbaijan. If members of Congress started focusing, the Congress can become forced to push on sanctions for a tougher line on Azerbaijan. President Aliyev either needs to assert himself, if he thinks things are going to wrong direction, or he is responsible for it. But his Chief of staff in December of last year issued a 60-page manifesto/attack against the West and the U.S. Aliyev “can follow what’s happening in terms of the coverage and reaction in the West to developments inside of his country. Either he is unable to rein in some of the forces around him, or he chooses not to do so, because he actually agrees and supports what they say,” Kramer points out. “And it seems that Aliyev is making decision and a choice not to have good relations with the West.”

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch reports that a court in Baku will hear the appeal against the convictions of the prominent rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus on October 12, 2015. The group urges the authorities to immediately drop all outstanding charges and release the couple.

“The court can take a step toward restoring rule of law and justice in Azerbaijan,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Recognizing that the convictions of Leyla and Arif Yunus are incompatible with Azerbaijan’s human rights obligations would be the first, vital step toward reversing the terrible miscarriage of justice that they have endured.”
Both suffer from serious, chronic health conditions and require urgent medical care. Their daughter has told Human Rights Watch that neither is in a medical facility, despite their need for treatment, and that both have made credible allegations of ill-treatment while in custody. Leyla Yunus suffers from severe diabetes, Hepatitis C, gallstones, and hypertension. Arif Yunus has a heart condition and suffers from severe hypertension. He suffered two strokes when he was temporarily detained at the Baku airport in April 2014. During an August 3 hearing of his trial, he lost consciousness when his blood pressure spiked.

“The conduct of their trial given their poor health exposed it for the mockery of justice it was,” Denber said.

Human Rights Watch notes that since 2012, the government has harassed, intimidated and arrested dozens of human rights activists, independent journalists, political figures and bloggers.

“Azerbaijan’s partners should make it clear that their relationship with Baku will depend on the government’s commitment to rule of law,” Denber said. “So long as Leyla and Arif Yunus remain in prison and face further bogus charges of treason, that commitment is clearly non-existent.”

On 13 August 2015, Baku Court of Grave Crimes brought in a verdict against the Azerbaijani human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus, sentencing them to 8.5 years and 7 years’ imprisonment respectively. On 6 August 2015, during Leyla and Arif Yunus trial in Baku Court of Grave Crimes, prosecutor Farid Nagiyev called on the court to sentence Leyla Yunus to 11 years’ imprisonment and her husband 9 years finding guilty of swindle, tax evasion and abuses.

In 2014, Francois Hollande, the French President, met Leyla Yunus in Baku and awarded her with the Order of the Legion of Honor. Later, on 30 July, Yunus was arrested in the yard of her house. She was charged with high treason, tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, forgery and large-scale fraud. In January, media reported that the German doctor Christian Vitt confirmed that the arrested human rights defender suffered from a serious disease. However, in February 2015, Azerbaijani Nasimi District Court extended Leyla Yunus’ pretrial detention for five months. He husband, Arif Yunusov, also faces charges of high treason and large-scale fraud.

Related:
US, UK, Council of Europe, OSCE and PACE sharply condemn Leyla and Arif Yunus sentence in Azerbaijan 
Azerbaijan: Rights groups consider verdict against Yunuses to be equivalent to death sentence 
International rights groups condemn Azerbaijan for verdict against Arif and Leyla Yunus