Rasul Jafarov ( az, Rəsul Ağahəsən oğlu Cəfərov; born August 17, 1984) is a lawyer and prominent human rights defender in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. In April 2015, he was sentenced to six and a half years’ imprisonment. He was considered a prisoner of conscience by

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 ...

. He received a pardon in March 2016.

Education

Jafarov is a lawyer by training, and holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in international and European law.

Activities

Rasul Jafarov has worked as reporter for the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), where he investigated (as reporter) numerous criminal cases against journalists, prepared reports about the cases, and monitored the trials and legal correspondences. He is also a founder and chairman of the Human Rights Club (HRC), non-formal group, which has been denied legal registration by the Azerbaijani court since the group establishment in 2010. Within the HRC Jafarov has coordinated in 2012 the "Sing for Democracy" campaign. Using the occasion of Azerbaijan hosting the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, this campaign demanded that citizens' rights be respected, and highlighted that two journalists critical of the authorities in Azerbaijan had been murdered. The "Sing for Democracy" campaign received wide international coverage. In December 2012, “Sing for Democracy” was expanded and rebranded as “ Art for Democracy,” which Rasul Jafarov continues to lead. Also in 2012 Rasul Jafarov has organized "Expression Online Initiative" that coincided with

Internet Governance Forum The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multistakeholder governance group for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. It brings together all stakeholders in the Internet governance debate, whether they represent governments, the privat ...

, which took place in Baku, Azerbaijan. "The campaign continues to expand Internet freedoms by protecting online activists, streamlining and initiating new Internet freedom legislation, as well as engaging in practical solutions to protect Internet rights." Jafarov has been involved in a number of other efforts to educate citizens of Azerbaijan about their rights, to ensure legal representation of political prisoners, and to highlight human rights abuses. He was also an active participant of the

Eastern Partnership The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) together with the EU, its member states, and six Eastern European partners governing the EU's relationship with the post-Sovi ...

Civil Society Forum. In June 2014, Rasul Jafarov has been included to the Natalia Project - alarm and positioning system for human rights defenders at risk. In 2014, together with

Leyla Yunus Leyla Islam qizi Yunusova (née Vəliyeva; born 21 December 1955, in Baku), better known as Leyla Yunus, is an Azerbaijani human rights activist who serves as the director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, a human rights organisation. She is p ...

, Rasul Jafarov has led a Working Group, which worked on compiling a list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. In early August 2014 both of them have been arrested, and their names are the last ones on the list - final outcome of their work - which has been published by the

Norwegian Helsinki Committee The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (''Den norske Helsingforskomité'') is a Norwegian human rights non-governmental organization based in Oslo. It was founded in 1977 following the adoption of the Helsinki Accords. It works to ensure that human right ...

Political prisoner

On August 2, 2014 Jafarov was imprisoned on charges that are widely considered to be fabricated. During detention, Rasul Jafarov turned 30 years old. On the occasion of his 30th birthday his friends and supporters organized an action "Books for Rasul - birthday in prison". Numerous international organizations, including

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 ...

, the

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...

and the

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA currently has a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associat ...

have highlighted his arrest in a public letter. Also inter-governmental institutions, such as

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, has expressed their deep concern regarding Rasul Jafarov's detention. In April 2015, he was sentenced to six and a half years’ imprisonment. In March 2016 Jafarov was among 148 prisoners who received a presidential pardon.

Awards

Nominations

In 2014, a number of organizations have also put Jafarov forward for the

Sakharov Prize The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientis ...

, together with

and

Intiqam Aliyev Intiqam Kamil oglu Aliyev (sometimes also spelled Intigam) (born 30 November 1962, Pushkin (now Bilasuvar), Azerbaijan SSR) is a human rights defender and lawyer in Azerbaijan. Along with other human rights activists, Aliyev was jailed in mid-20 ...

. Rasul Jafarov has been also nominated for the

Human Rights Tulip The Human Rights Tulip ( nl, Mensenrechtentulp) is an annual prize awarded by the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs to a human rights defender or organisation who promotes and supports human rights in innovative ways. The Human Rights Tulip was est ...

award.

Awarded

In October 2014, The

awarded Rasul Jafarov - together with

Anar Mammadli Anar Mammadli ( az, Məmmədli Anar Asaf oğlu; born 1978 in Yevlakh) is a prominent human rights activist in Azerbaijan. He is active in observing and monitoring elections, and he has repeatedly criticized the conduct of elections by Azerbaijani ...

and

- The

Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award The Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award, officially known as the Sakharov Freedom Award and named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov ( rus, Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров, p=ɐnˈdr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jafarov, Rasul 1984 births Azerbaijani human rights activists Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Azerbaijan Living people Lawyers from Baku Western Caspian University alumni Azerbaijani prisoners and detainees Recipients of Azerbaijani presidential pardons