Alikram Hummatov or Ali Akram Hummatzade (also spelled as Alakram Hummatov, 28 October 1948 – 22 December 2022) was an Azerbaijani

Talysh Talysh may refer to: *Talysh people * History of Talysh *Talysh language *Talysh Khanate, in existence from 1747 to 1828 *Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, a self-declared autonomy, which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan in 1993 *Talysh ...

military commander and political activist. He was the president of the self-proclaimed

Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic Talysh-Mughan, officially known as the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic (Talysh: Толъш-Мъғонә Мохтарә Республикә, ''Tolış-Mığonə Muxtara Respublika''), was a short-lived autonomous republic in Azerbaijan that la ...

in 1993 and was imprisoned in Azerbaijan. He was considered as a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

by international organizations including

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

.World Report 2003 - Azerbaijan
Human Rights Watch After demands from the Council of Europe, Hummatov was granted retrials, yet according to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

report, the authorities conducted him inside prisons, and with procedural violations. He was pardoned in 2004 and stripped of his Azerbaijani citizenship; he lived in exile in the Netherlands.

Biography

Hummatov was born in 1948. He graduated from the

Baku Polytechnical Institute Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU; az, Azərbaycan Texniki Universiteti) is a public university, specialized in engineering, located in Baku, Azerbaijan. The University has 9 schools and 54 departments, 884 faculty members and approximately 65 ...

, then worked in the automotive industry. In 1975, he joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. He served in different political parties, including the

Popular Front of Azerbaijan The Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP; az, Azərbaycan Xalq Cəbhəsi Partiyası, ) is a political party in Azerbaijan, founded in 1992 by Abulfaz Elchibey. After Elchibey's death in 2000, the party split into two wings, the ''reform'' wi ...

. Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991, Hummatov was the leader of the self-declared Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan at a time of political instability in 1993, and was "seen by many Azeris as a dangerous separatist."

Imprisonment

In 1995 Hummatov was sentenced to death by an Azerbaijani court, later commuted to life imprisonment, on a range of charges including

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. In an open letter to Azerbaijan President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

, Sidiki Kaba, the president of the

International Federation of Human Rights The International Federation for Human Rights (french: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international h ...

, wrote that Hummatov and Qaziyez "are being held in Qobustan prison. Their prison system is very strict and sentences them to isolation. In fact, under the pretext of protecting their physical integrity, these two prisoners have been locked up alone, in closed cells at night, which prevents them from receiving medical assistance throughout the night in the case a problem should arise." In prison Hummatov fell ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and lost almost all of his teeth. He was among those identified in 2001 by the Council of Europe as political prisoners who should either be released or retried. In 2004 Hummatov was pardoned by President Aliyev, stripped of his Azerbaijani citizenship, and sent to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where his family lived.

''Hummatov vs. Azerbaijan'' case at the European Court

After emigrating to the Netherlands, Hummatov made two applications against the

Republic of Azerbaijan A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

to the

European Court European Court may refer to: * Court of Justice of the European Union, the judiciary of the European Union, based in Luxembourg ** European Court of Justice (ECJ), the EU's highest court, established in 1952 ** General Court (European Union), esta ...

under Article 34 of the

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by th ...

. On 29 November 2007 the court sentenced the state of Azerbaijan to pay the applicant 12,000 EUR for non-pecuniary damages and 2,090 EUR for costs and expenses.

Later activities

Hummatov continued to campaign in exile for the rights of the Talysh people. In September 2013, he visited the self-proclaimed

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

, two decades after confronting Karabakh and Armenian forces on the battlefield. He met with university students in

Stepanakert / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...

, where he criticized the current Azerbaijani government and called for a peaceful resolution of the

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaij ...

, stating "I believe that we must do everything to establish peace in the region so that our beloved children live, create and study in peaceful conditions." Hummatov traveled to Karabakh from Armenia, where he inaugurated a graduate program of Talysh studies at the

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

on 24 September 2013.

Personal life

Hummatov was married to Sudaba Rasulova; they had two sons. According to Rasulova, neither she nor her children know the Talysh language, and speak only Azerbaijani at home. Rasulova stated that she was unaware of Hummatov's plans to visit Armenia, and she does not understand why her husband traveled there. Hummatov died on 22 December 2022.

References

External links

Republic of Azerbaijan, report, Amnesty International, 2002Written question E-0639/99, by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission, Official Journal of the European Communities, 1999Azerbaijan in a stir over political prisoner, BBC, 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hummatov, Alikram 1948 births 2022 deaths Azerbaijani people of Talysh descent Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights cases involving Azerbaijan Recipients of Azerbaijani presidential pardons People convicted of treason Azerbaijani prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Azerbaijan Azerbaijani prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Azerbaijan Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Azerbaijani Social Democratic Party politicians Azerbaijani people of the Nagorno-Karabakh War Azerbaijani colonels Azerbaijan Technical University alumni Talysh people The National Talysh Movement