"No one in Azerbaijan would dare to bribe me"

Mehriban Rahimli

Mehriban Rahimli, who was an advisor to the German Marshall Fund of the United States for Azerbaijan for a time testified as a defendant in the Baku Grave Crimes Court on April 27. She is one of 15 civil society representatives who have been brought to criminal responsibility as part of an investigation conducted by the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor Generals Office since the beginning of last year into local and international organizations.

M. Rahimli has been charged with legalizing property obtained through means abuse of official authority and forgery.

Stressing that each of these charges is unfounded M. Rahimli first informed the court in detail about her education and activities in her testimony. According to her she began working for organizations in 2005.

In 2005-2006 she was a researcher at the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

In 2007-2008 she worked as a public advocacy manager at the humanitarian organization "World Vision".

Since November 2008 she has been working as an advisor to the German Marshall Fund of the United States on Azerbaijan.

"I have not signed any documents. I had no role in the transfer of funds"

The charges in the criminal case are related to the German Marshall Fund. M. Rahimli emphasized that she had concluded a service agreement with this organization and served as a consultant on the basis of this. Her activities consisted of providing opinions on projects submitted to the Bucharest office of the Fund.

"After the review each project was first analyzed by the Bucharest office of the Fund then by the head office in Washington and the Board of Directors and a final decision was made. I was not a party to any contract I did not sign any documents on behalf of the Fund and I had no role in the transfer of funds.” These are the words of M. Rahimli.

She said that during her cooperation with the German Marshall Fund of the United States under a service contract her income was officially transferred to her account at the International Bank. These incomes were disclosed in the form of annual reports after paying taxes.

M. Rahimli also said that in the years 2008-2024 when she was a consultant the German Marshall Fund allocated funds to an average of 8-10 projects in Azerbaijan each year. These were mainly empowerment of women, prevention of early and forced marriages, education and socially oriented initiatives. The Autism Center received continuous and the largest financial support.

The support was also directed to community building, womens entrepreneurship, ecological initiatives and educational work throughout the country. For example 27 libraries were opened in the remote villages of Azerbaijan with the support of the Foundation.

M. Rahimli answered the prosecutors questions after her statement. The public prosecutor asked her which civil society activists in prison she knew and with whom she had made prior agreements to obtain additional income.

"No one in Azerbaijan would dare to bribe me or even offer me this " M. Rahimli answered the prosecutor.

She also said that she knew most of the civil society activists in prison and had communicated with them in connection with the case. The trial will continue on May 18.

The majority of civil society activists accused in cases related to local and international non-governmental organizations are currently on trial at the Investigative Department of the Prosecutor Generals Office. Among them are Bashir Suleymanli, head of the "Institute for Civil Rights" Public Union, Mammad Mammadzadeh, head of the Election Observation Alliance, Hafiz Hasanov, head of the "Law and Development" Public Union, Galib Bayramov, chairman of the "Center for Economic Research" Public Union, womens rights defender Nargiz Mukhtarova and others.

The trial of Zamin Zakiyev, head of the initiative group of the "Ubuntu" Social Work Association and public activists Aygul Panjaliyeva and Asiman Gojayev has concluded. Zakiyev was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison, while Panjaliyeva and Gojayev were given suspended sentences.

The head of the Social Rights Center, Subhan Hasanli who's currently abroad and public activist Aytaj Agazade have been placed under arrest and are wanted.

NGO representatives deny the charges.