Musa Berzin: EU Sanctions Against Tabriz Court Judge Are a Positive Development

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, March 18, 2013

Musa Berzin

Lawyer Musa Berzin Khalifali views the European Union’s sanctions against Rahim Hamlebar, a judge at the Tabriz Revolutionary Court known for issuing harsh sentences against national activists, as a positive development. Before seeking asylum in Turkey due to the pressures he faced, Berzin had defended many Azerbaijani activists in court. In an interview with Voice of America, he spoke about the legal violations in Tabriz courts, the charges faced by national activists, and the interference of the Intelligence Ministry (Ettelaat) in judicial processes.

“This should have happened earlier. However, even though it is late, the news of the illegalities in Tabriz courts has reached the European Union, which is a good development,” said Berzin, commenting on the sanctions imposed on the head of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court, Rahim Hamlebar. “While EU sanctions may not directly impact Judge Hamlebar, they could encourage his colleagues and other judges to refrain from unlawful actions and to act more fairly in the trials of political prisoners.”

Azerbaijani websites have identified three judges actively involved in the persecution of national activists: investigative judge Hasan Hashimzadeh, Rahim Hamlebar, and appellate judge Mohammad Imani. These judges reportedly operate in coordination with Ettelaat. Under the orders of Ettelaat, they play a key role in torturing national activists and sentencing them to long-term imprisonment.

“The main figure in this process is investigative judge Hasan Hashimzadeh. He fabricates documents and drafts indictments against national activists, fully cooperating with Ettelaat in their arrests. Meanwhile, appellate judge Imani does not even read the appeals submitted to him—he simply upholds the verdicts issued by Judge Hamlebar in the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court,” Musa Berzin told Voice of America.

Berzin considers the interference of the Intelligence Ministry in court proceedings to be unlawful: “According to the law, Ettelaat should only be involved in the investigation phase. However, its agents illegally interfere in the entire judicial process—including both the investigation and prosecution stages.”

According to Musa Berzin, in addition to the legal violations in cases involving charges such as pan-Turkism, activities against national security, propaganda against the state, and espionage, there are also fundamental problems within the laws themselves. He argues that after the Islamic Revolution, laws were written vaguely and ambiguously, allowing for misinterpretation in favor of maintaining the regime’s power.

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Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Musa Bərzin: Təbriz Məhkəməsi hakiminin beynəlxalq sanksiyalarla üzləşməsi müsbət haldır