Ilgar Mammadov – the stages of a big way

On 23 January 2013 in Ismayilly District centre of Azerbaijan occurred mass disorders, which had turned into a protest action demanding the resignation of Nizami Alekberov, a head of Executive authority of the District. More than 60 men were arrested in result of the protest. Special police units and internal troops then applied the teargas and water cannons to disperse the protesters in Ismayilly.

Representatives of some oppositional parties and civil society visited also the scene of event. Ilgar Mammadov, a leader of civil movement REAL, was among them.

Two months later after the incident Mammadov was charged under Articles 233 (Organization of actions promoting infringement of a social order or active participation in such actions) and 315 (Resistance or application of violence concerning the representative of authority) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan Republic and sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Influential international organizations for the protection of human rights, including Amnesty International, recognized of Ilgar Mammadov as prisoner of conscience. The ECHR repeatedly made decisions on the immediate release of him from prison and restoration of his rights. However, these decisions have not been implemented.

Ilgar was born in Baku, in a family of soviet intellectuals. The signs of leadership and liberty could be watched already in school years. In 1986-1987 he set up in school informal organisation and has issued ‘illegal school paper’, which had not been approved in school. After that his parents were few times invited to the Master, who had complaint to ‘liberty’ of thoughts their son.

Sooner after entering in the Moscow State University he became of the active participants of student movement. After events of 20 January 1990, Ilgar was one of the first, who arranged a protest action in Moscow in front of Azerbaijani Representative Office against entering the troops to Baku.    

In 1998 he was elected as a deputy of chairman of the Party of Azerbaijani National Independence. But, in 2003 Mammadov left the party.

Civil movement “REAL” (Republican Alternative) appeared in the political map of Azerbaijan in 2009. The movement was set up by Ilgar Mammadov and a group of a new generation politicians. In the background of traditional oppositionists, who had represented needy strata of society, the movement has distinguished with the fact that the functionaries were successful politicians, economists, historians and lawyers, have had a carrier growth and represented the interests of the middle class of the country. They might be named as a face of new opposition of Azerbaijan.  

Ilgar Mammadov and the members of the movement were always active in social networks, conducted the lectures concerning the topic of freedom of speech, democracy, European integration, global values and were popular like among the intellectual elite so and among dissenting youth.

In 2013, when begun the next presidential elections in the country, the movement made decision to ballot their candidate – a leader of the movement Ilgar Mammadov. But, the two circumstances disturbed to participation in the elections. They had changed not only these but the further plans of the movement: 1) Candidature of Mammadov was not registered; 2) Ilgar Mammadov was arrested.

A member of the REAL movement, historian Altay Geyushev comparing Mammadov to the ex-President of Georgia and former Governor of Odessa Mikhail Saakashvili and the Russian opposition leader, a creator of “Foundation for combat to corruption” Alexei Navalny forecasts that the authorities feared his growing authority, they had apprehended that he addressed to intelligent and modern youth and completely distinguished segment of middle class.

“It should be recognised that in Azerbaijan there is never a chairman of a popular organisation was detained so long after arrested. This was occurred a serious reason. Ilgar was one of those, who established few organisations consisting on youth and middle class that had completed their active participation in policy. Ilgar was one of the leading men of the great awakening”, – Geyushev says.

In May 2014 the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) found the verdict to Ilgar Mammadov as politically motivated and associated with critics of the authorities, and it obliged Azerbaijan to pay him compensation in amount of 22,000 Euros.

“It is interesting that the state has fulfilled a part of the decision on compensation payment, but has left of Ilgar in prison. It turns that the state confesses the decision of the European court and pays compensation, but at the same time it does not execute the court decision on release of Ilgar. Here is such an absurdity”, in perplexity says Natig Jafarly.

Politician considers that their leader will be released after the second decision of the European court. “If the authorities are not announced force-major elections this year then the next presidential elections, which has to be held in 2018, we would nominate Ilgar Mammadov as our candidate. But, if Ilgar is not be released till these elections or it would be made other obstacles then it would be additional evidence that the authorities are feared his as a serious leader”.

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