Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced the signing of a framework agreement with Turkey on the construction of a Bayraktar drone plant in Ukraine.

He said this during a briefing, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

Reznikov said that a delegation of the Republic of Turkey would be visiting Ukraine today.

First, Reznikov is scheduled to meet with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar – first tete-a-tete, and then as part of delegations.

“It is planned to sign a framework agreement on cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey in the field of high military technologies. One of the examples of filling this agreement will be the plant for the construction of Bayraktar drones, which will be produced in Ukraine and, accordingly, a training center will be created that will train our pilots to control unmanned drones of different categories,” he said.

Besides, he recalled that, according to the decision of the Turkish company producing Bayraktar, the next generation will use Ukrainian engines of our production, Motor Sich.

“This, in fact, will be the Ukrainian-Turkish Bayraktar in terms of technological content,” Reznikov said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on September 29, Bayraktar intends to build a training and testing center for servicing drones in Vasylkiv, Kyiv region.

Britain has quietly resumed arms exports to its NATO ally Turkey, whose brutal operation in Syria targets the UK’s key Kurdish allies fighting Islamic State (ISIS). Turkish-backed militias are complicit in human rights abuses and include former members of ISIS.

• Turkish-controlled network of militias known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) is committing myriad violations of human rights and international law in Syria
• Hundreds of people have been disappeared, raped and tortured by the SNA
• UK suspended arms exports to Turkey in 2019 but resumed normal licencing last December 

In October 2019, Turkey undertook an invasion of the Kurdish-led autonomous regions of north and east Syria. Its jets and tanks killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands of Kurdish, Yazidi, and Christian civilians, as well as some Arabs, in a deliberate policy of forcible demographic change. 

Turkey has driven out indigenous minorities to replace them with Sunni Arab militiamen and their families. Its invasion of the Afrin region of northeast Syria in 2018 reduced the Kurdish population there from 97% to just 35%. 

The 2019 assault was dubbed ‘Peace Spring’ by Turkish officials and ostensibly sought to create a ‘safe zone’ by expelling the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the Syrian-Turkish border. 

The SDF is Britain’s key partners on the ground in Syria in the war against the Islamic State terrorist group.

The UK government suspended new arms deals with Turkey for weapons that might be used in the invasion. But last December, the government of Boris Johnson quietly resumed normal licencing.

The UK is now arming Turkey again while its Nato ally is promoting former Islamic State militants and major human rights abuses, in north and east Syria and elsewhere.

Release of information would “prejudice relations” between the UK and Turkey.

Declassified submitted a Freedom of Information request to the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT), seeking information on its discussions about arms for Turkey during the 2019 invasion.

But the government refused to provide the information it holds. It said: “Disclosure of the name of the company or companies… would be likely to damage the trading relationship between the UK company and their customer… This would be likely to risk future trading opportunities… [and] could possibly reveal details of commercial opportunities.” 

The Foreign Office also dodged a similar request, saying the release of the information would “prejudice relations” between the UK and Turkey.

‘Myriad violations’

Turkey relies in Syria on a network of dozens of primarily Sunni Arab militias known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) which numbers at least 35,000 full-time fighters. Though independent in name, the SNA is in practice commanded, controlled, and funded by Turkey’s Ministry of Defense and National Intelligence Organisation (MIT). 

Academic terrorism expert Elizabeth Tsurkov, speaking to multiple sources within the ranks of the SNA, shows that “all decisions, big and small, in the [SNA] are made by the operations room run by Turkish intelligence.”

Turkey plays SNA factions off against one another, allowing them to clash over checkpoints and loot property to prevent anyone force growing too powerful.

The UN accuses the SNA of “myriad violations of human rights and international humanitarian law”. It says the group has caused the displacement of the entire Yazidi population, and much of the Kurdish population, in the Turkish-occupied region of Sere Kanye, near the border with Turkey, and promoted murder, rape, and torture of civilians, often on an ethnic basis.

The SNA includes forces sanctioned by the US for atrocities committed against Kurds and Yazidis.

Read more: https://declassifieduk.org/uk-rearms-turkey-as-ankara-backs-war-crimes-in-occupied-syria/

Arman Tatoyan

It is very worrying that the Armenian public television is implementing a long-term policy to block the broadcast of the Human Rights Defender activity. The announcement of the European Ombudsman InstituteThe European Ombudsman Institute issued a statement on “Broadcasting of Armenian Human Rights Defender Activity by the Armenian Public TV Company”.In the announcement, in particular, it says:”It is very concern for us that the Armenian public TV company, being created by the Government, is implementing a long-term policy to block the broadcast of the Human Rights Protection Activity.

” Armenian human rights defender is independent and enjoys real respect, his authority has international recognition. Armenian National Institute of Human Rights plays an important role in the protection of human rights and promoting democracy. It raises the awareness of citizens about their rights, not only to announcements, and also through public awareness-raising campaigns, as well as promotes control over public authorities by citizens.It is extremely important that the Armenian Human Rights Defender is an indispensable source of information in a number of spheres (e.g. the prevention of torture by the National Prevention Mechanism through visits to criminal institutions as an exception rick jurisdiction) and serves as a reliable source of alternative views or real state of information for the public.

National human rights institutions are protected internationally (European Council, OSCE, etc.)). The policy of the public television of Armenia is institutional damage to the public authority of this institution and, back otherwise, to its effectiveness by limiting its ability to protect human rights. We are closely following the difficulties faced by the Armenian National Human Rights Organization in a number of spheres in relations with public authorities, but it should not be affected by the Government On the attitude of public television related to broadcasting. So, we urge the Armenian Public Television and the Armenian Public Broadcasting Council to immediately end this unacceptable policy and restore normal broadcasting related to the Armenian Human Rights Defender the quality of the quality.This is the way to promote the right public discourse in the country.

“Even before Nikol Pashinyan came to power, after becoming prime minister, he announced that the price of electricity in Armenia should be reduced by at least 20%, the price of gas should be reduced, and the price of water should not increase, however, everything became more expensive. From February 1, the price of electricity will increase by 4.7 drams on average.

There is no complaint. The “civil activists” have no order to take to the streets. Now some of them are in power and he is raising the price of electricity, he is robbing. Meanwhile, in the summer of 2015, some people tore their backs saying that we are against the rise in prices. They named it “Electric-Yerevan” and took it to the streets. The authorities were very kind to the protesters.

Baghramyan Avenue was closed, no one was resisting. It was as if no one was in the heat of summer, but the police still did not stop the traffic on Baghramyan Avenue. Once they watered the activists, they got beautiful shots, then they called on the “lunatics” to sober up within the framework of the “I am Vova Gasparyan” program. Everyone was involved in that “protest” action. Everyone had their role.

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The activists were “fighting” against the rise in prices, the political clients, Nikol Pashinyan, Edmon Marukyan, etc., formed a “zoological” wall between the protesters and the police. ” The demonstration was sold to the Kremlin as an Armenian “Maidan” against which the authorities are fighting.

The business deal of the electricity network took place from below, then everyone dispersed to their homes. Now the activist boys and girls have become “velvet” revolutionaries, they do not notice the rise in prices, the robbery. Some of them have left the country, some are happy that most of Artsakh have been handed over. This was the real face of the so-called Electric-Yerevan. They turned their backs on that dishovk until they came to power and cursed everything.

ByAygun Rashidova,

As media provide a platform for politicians and celebrities to unleash barrages of homophobic statements, activists fight to provide legal protection for queer people in Azerbaijan.

In recent months, Instagram influencer Sevinj Huseynova has become known for her calls for violence against queer Azerbaijanis. A transgender woman, Nuray, became an unfortunate subject of her broadcasts, where Huseynova shamed her for wearing a wedding dress.

Nuray’s body was found burnt in the Garadagh District of Baku less than a month later.

Following the incident, journalist Avaz Hafizli condemned hate speech in Azerbaijani media, and as a result, Huseynova did not exclude Hafizli from her broadcasts, ridiculing him for his sexual orientation.

The Azerbaijani journalist says that life has become harder since the influencer had targeted him, and that members of his family had rejected and abandoned him.

‘I miss my family so much. However, I cannot see  them due to safety concerns.’

But Huseynova’s is far from the only person with a wide sphere of influence targeting queer people in Azerbaijan.

In an effort to understand more about hate speech in Azerbaijan, OC Media analysed 100 examples by public figures in the country since 2015.

By searching online for various homophobic slurs as well as the names of some well-known homophobes we selected the first 100 serious examples of hate speech to examine further.

The selection included 65 politicians, 23 celebrities, five representatives of NGOs, and seven others, including a prominent psychologist, a sociologist etc.

A lot of similarities were found in the general attitude towards queer people in the sample, including a tendency to view queerness as an ‘immoral political game’ and a ‘destructive force’ perpetrated by the West targeting the values of Azerbaijan.

Of the examples selected, 88% were published by pro-government media outlets, with independent media making up the remaining 12%. More than 50 pro-government outlets aired and published interviews on topics about queer people in Azerbaijan.

Hate speech in politics

From the sample, it is clear that hate speech is particularly visible in politics. It included 31 former or current MPs, 26 party officials, and eight government officials.

For example, Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, was noted to have made queerphobic remarks in a speech to students on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Baku State University in 2019.

Leading political figures in the country echoed the president’s statement with remarks of their own, such as the chair of the Modern Musavat Party (not to be confused with the New Musavat Party), Hafiz Hajiyev, who called for the exclusion of queer people from politics.

Tural Abbasli, chair of the White Party, made at least six homophobic statements in the past two years, often stressing that he does not support queer people and that being queer contradicted ‘national moral values.’

In one interview, Abbasli associated European influence with queer rights in Azerbaijan.

Tahir Karimli, the deputy chair of parliament’s Human Rights Committee, was also quick to denounce a demonstration in front of his office against the murder of Nuray.

Celebrities contributing to the rise of hate speech

Outside the political sphere, celebrities and other public figures also contributed to the conversation following Aliyev’s statements. 

These included Rasim Balayev, a popular actor who has previously participated in campaigns against gender-based violence, who voiced support for Aliyev’s statements in an interview.

In July 2019, TV presenter Ilgar Mikayiloglu called for the ‘destruction’ of  queer people on Facebook after he came across a reference to homosexuality in a video game.

Later that year, the People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, Sheikh Abdul Mahmudov, said on local television that gay people must be shot.

The community fights back

According to a report by QueeRadar, a media watchdog monitoring queer issues, such incidents of hate speech have been on the rise over the past three years.

Leyla Hasanova, the co-author of the report, suggests that this has also led to a rise in queer activism in Azerbaijan after 2017.

‘The more pressure you apply on the subject, the bigger the reaction it elicits. The more people express themselves, the more they experience pressure’, she says.

Hasanova thinks it is unethical for journalists to reach out to people uninvolved with queer rights for comments regarding the queer community. 

According to her, making queer lives open to public comment takes away their social, cultural, political or legal rights. 

‘It is as if everyone can talk about and decide everything related to the fate and life of queer citizens — where and how to live, what socio-political issues should be available for them.’ 

The organisation’s findings are based on the high number of violent attacks on queer people and the frequency of discriminatory comments made by politicians. 

Lawyer Emin Abbasov suggests that actions aimed at inciting national, racial, social, or religious hatred and hostility are prohibited by Article 283 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

‘The article stipulates that the same acts committed with the use or threat of use of force and by a person using their official position are punished more severely,’ Abbasov added.

However, appeals to authorities regarding instances of hate speech on social media have fallen on deaf ears.

Following the death of Nuray and the rise of homophobic hate speech, local activists collectively appealed to the relevant authorities for the inclusion of queer people under ‘social groups’ protected by Article 283.

Gulnara Mehdiyeva was the only among them to be invited to the State Security Service. She was told that there were no grounds to classify queer people as a social group.

Mehdiyeva believes this form of hate speech should be criminalised, stressing that public figures with authority play a role in the formation of ideas in future generations.

‘Calls for death, or the removal of a group for any reason, in my opinion, should be considered a crime; these people must be held culturally and criminally liable.’

Armenian law-enforcement authorities have moved to arrest a judge just days after he ordered the release of yet another jailed opposition figure.

A spokesman for Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian said on Monday that he has asked Armenia’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to allow the National Security Service (NSS) to indict and arrest Boris Bakhshiyan, who works at the court of first instead of Syunik province.

He refused to reveal the accusations that the NSS wants to bring against Bakhshiyan, citing the “secrecy” of the investigation and the need to show respect for the judge.

Aleksandr Azarian, the chairman of the Union of Judges of Armenia, expressed serious concern over the criminal proceedings, linking them to Bakhshiyan’s professional activities.

“We will closely monitor further developments and come up with an appropriate statement if necessary,” Azarian said in a statement.

As recently as on January 26, Bakhshiyan agreed to grant bail to Ashot Minasian, a prominent war veteran and opposition activist arrested on December 1.

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Minasian and three other opposition figures were charged in November 2020 with plotting to kill Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and overthrow his government. The NSS claimed to have found large quantities of weapons and ammunition in a Syunik property belonging to Minasian.

Later in December 2021, the NSS dropped the coup charges strongly denied by all four men. But Minasian remained accused of illegal arms and was not set free until last week’s decision made by the Syunik judge.

Bakhshiyan also freed last fall two local government officials from Syunik affiliated with the main opposition Hayastan alliance. They were arrested last summer on separate charges rejected by them as politically motivated.

Erik Aleksanian, a trial attorney critical of the Armenian government, said Bakhshiyan is prosecuted because he freed the oppositionists. He claimed that the authorities want to punish him for those decisions and discourage other judges from thwarting politically motivated criminal cases.

Prosecutor-General Davtian’s spokesman, Gor Abrahamian, denied that. Speaking with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, Abrahamian said that the move to arrest Bakhshiyan has nothing to with Minasian’s release and that it stems from “an incident that occurred much earlier.”

In recent months, Armenian opposition groups, lawyers, and some judges have accused the authorities of seeking to increase government influence on Armenian courts under the guise of judicial reforms. The authorities deny this, insisting that the reforms are on increasing judicial independence in the country.

A controversial government bill enacted last year empowered the Armenian Ministry of Justice to demand disciplinary action against judges by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a state body overseeing Armenian courts.

In a joint statement issued in early January, a dozen judges, among them Azarian, accused Justice Minister Karen Andreasian of abusing that authority to try to bully them and their colleagues known for their independence.

Most fake passports issued with official visas and travel stamps to allow people with links to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) the opportunity to leave Syria and travel to Europe and US are produced in Turkey, The Guardian newspaper reported.

The daily said one such network, run by an Uzbek with extremist links living in Turkey, is now selling high-quality fake passports for up to $15,000 purporting to be from various countries. In at least 10 cases the Guardian is aware of, people who illegally crossed the Syrian border into Turkey have used his products to depart through İstanbul Airport, according to the British newspaper.

Sellers claim the EU is the most popular destination but say in at least two cases people were able to travel from İstanbul to Mexico on fake Russian passports and, from there, illegally over the border into the US. Niger and Mauritania are also popular destinations, as are Ukraine and Afghanistan.

The daily found that the Uzbek’s business is doing so well he recently opened a new channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram with the official-sounding name “Istanbul Global Consulting.” The growing trade suggests that dangerous extremists could be slipping under the radar of security services around the world, escaping justice for past crimes, and potentially able to continue terrorist activity in countries other than Syria.

“I do not ask about which group someone is with. I am willing to work with anyone,” the Uzbek said in a message chat with the Guardian, which posed as an interested client. “It is not my job to see who is bad and who is not. The security services should deal with it.”

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To make sure a person disappears completely, for $500 the Uzbek seller can even offer a Turkish death certificate that can be sent to their home country’s consulate. “Unless you are Abu Bakr Baghdadi [the IS leader killed in 2019] no one would go to the morgue to check if you really died. They would just accept that document and enter it into the system,” he told the Guardian.

Typically, an EU citizen arrives in Turkey on his or her own passport, sells it to the Uzbek and his colleagues for about €2,500, then the passport photo is changed to that of a client. The original owner of the passport then claims it has been lost and applies for a replacement at his or her consulate in İstanbul.

The passports are printed in their countries of origin and taken to the country where the client is waiting, where they receive official border entry stamps, which helps cement the legitimacy of the document.

A report by the US Department of Defense had said Turkey is still a transit country for logistics, finance and weapons for ISIL despite the country’s efforts to step up the crackdown on the terrorist organization. The 136-page report, submitted to the US Congress, included the claim, based on remarks from the US European Command, that Turkey is still used as a base by ISIL, particularly for money transfers.

Turkey declared ISIL a terrorist organization in 2013 and has been attacked by the jihadist group multiple times since then. A total of 315 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb blasts and four armed attacks organized by ISIL in the country.

Armenian police detained a group of drivers protesting against the increase in car insurance premiums in Yerevan on Monday.

The drivers were detained after blocking traffic in central Republic Square.

Also, their cars were removed from the square with the use of tow trucks.

The rise in car insurance costs will take effect in Armenia starting from February 7. 

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Fehmi Koru, a former journalist of Turkey’s Zaman daily, has stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may change his current foreign minister.

Koru wrote in his personal blog that Erdogan, who makes all his decisions by considering elections, may change his ministers before the next elections.

According to the aforesaid Turkish journalist, taking into account the foreign policy realities, Erdogan may replace serving Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu due to these elections.

An asylum seeker launched a horrific sexual assault on a vulnerable woman when he pulled down her top and licked her breasts while she was on the way to a shop.

Jeyhun Zeynalov, 34, came across his victim – who had a learning disability – in the Shelton area of Stoke-on-Trent as she made her way to the store to buy sweets.

He then led her into the grounds of St Mark’s Church and assaulted her as she begged him to stop before he tried to pull down the zip on her jeans before she fled.

Azerbaijan national Zeynalov, a father-of-three who lives in the Longton area of the city and used to be a journalist in his home country where he ‘criticized the party in power, has now received a suspended jail sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

He initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual assault in October 2018 over the attack which took place the previous summer, before admitting guilt in March 2021

Zeynalov, who has no previous convictions but is now living separately to his wife after they were married for 13 years, claimed the incident was consensual. 

Ben Lawrence, prosecuting, told the court: ‘It would be clear to anyone that she had a learning disability. She went out to a local shop to buy some sweets. 

‘As she was walking towards the shop, he seemed to be waiting for her. She said he was ‘chatting her up’. He asked her if she wanted to go out for a drink. She said ‘no’, and that she was going to go home.’

The court heard that after visiting the shop, Zeynalov again followed her and bought a bottle of vodka. As she left the shop, he caught up with her.

Mr Lawrence added: ‘He began talking to her again. He pulled her into the grounds of St Mark’s Church on Broad Street. 

‘She was frightened and went where he directed her. He began touching her, and she said ‘no’ – he pulled down her top and licked her breasts. 

‘He tried to kiss her and she turned her head away. He tried to lower the zip on her jeans. When it was clear that she was not going to participate, she left.’

The court heard the victim went home and told her mother what had happened. Zeynalov was arrested shortly after.

In an impact statement, his victim said: ‘I was upset about what happened to me. I would regularly walk to the shop – after that I felt worried about walking to the shop.

‘I am worried about being around strange men in the street. After what happened my mother is very worried about me. You don’t know who is going to be about.

‘I am glad that I don’t have to think about this anymore. When I go out, I like to wear something that covers me up.’

Carl Templar-Vasey, defending, said there had been no repeated offending. He added: ‘It appears to have been a one-off offense.

‘He is an asylum-seeker from Azerbaijan – he was a journalist and criticized the party in power. He now receives £198 a week.

‘He has three children and has been married for 13 years and has had recent difficulties with his wife and they are now living separately.’

Judge David Fletcher sentenced Zeynalov to ten months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a 30-day of rehabilitation requirement.

He was also given a six-month alcohol treatment requirement and 120 hours of unpaid work. In addition, Zeynalov was placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

The judge told him: ‘You clearly on the day in 2017 took advantage of a young woman who had some difficulties which must have been obvious to you.

‘You followed her and you ushered her into the grounds of a church, where you exposed her breasts.

‘She made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want to involve herself in any behavior like that with you. She simply walked away and you didn’t pursue her.’

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