Alikram Hummatov

Alikram Hummatov in 2009

Alikram Hummatov or Ali Akram Hemmatzadeh (also spelled as Alikram Gummatov, born 1948) is a Talysh military and political activist of Azerbaijan, the president of self-proclaimed Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic in 1993, formerly prisoned in Azerbaijan. He was considered as a political prisoner by international organizations including Amnesty International and Council of Europe. After demands from the Council of Europe, Hummatov was granted retrials, yet according to Human Rights Watch report, the authorities conducted him inside prisons, and with procedural violations.

Biography

Hummatov finished Polytechnic Institute of Baku. He participated in different parties, including Popular Front of Azerbaijan. Hummatov, who was "seen by many Azeris as a dangerous separatist", 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.

Imprisonment

In 1995 Hummatov was sentenced to death by the Azerbaijani court, later commuted to life imprisonment, on a range of charges including treason. In an open letter to the president Ilham Aliyev, Sidiki Kaba, the president of the International Federation of Human Rights, 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, lost almost all the tooths. 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 has been pardoned by president Aliev, was deprived by the Azerbaijani citizenship and sent to the Netherlands where his family lives.

Hummatov vs. Azerbaijan case at the European Court

After emigrating to the Netherlands, Hummatov made two applications against the Republic of Azerbaijan to the European Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. On 29 November 2007 the court has sentenced the state of Azerbaijan to pay the applicant 12,000 Euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 2,090 euros in respect of costs and expenses.

Current activities

Hummatov continues to campaign in exile for the rights of the Talysh people. In September 2013, he visited the self-claimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, two decades after confronting Karabakh and Armenian forces on the battlefield. He met with university students in Stepanakert, where he criticized the current Azerbaijani government and called for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, 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 referred to the region as Artsakh, the ancient Armenian name, and also met with the Parliament Speaker of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ashot Ghulian. He traveled to Karabakh from Armenia, where he inaugurated a graduate program of Talysh studies at the Yerevan State University on 24 September 2013.

Personal life

Hummatov is married to Sudaba Rasulova. They have 2 sons. According to Rasulova, neither she, nor her children know Talysh language, and the only language of communication in their family is Azerbaijani. Rasulova stated that she was unaware of Hummatov's plans to visit Armenia, and she does not understand why her husband traveled there.

External links

• Republic of Azerbaijan, report, Amnesty International, 2002
• Written question E-0639/99, by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission, Official Journal of the European Communities, 1999
• Azerbaijan in a stir over political prisoner, BBC, 2003