The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has begun communication on five complaints from Azerbaijan. Four of them are connected with websites blocked on the territory of Azerbaijan, said an expert in the field of law Khalid Agaliyev.
According to him, the applicants in these cases are: Radio Azadlig (azadliq.org), sites anaxeber.az, 24saat.org and xural.com.
Access to these resources was limited in Azerbaijan by court decisions on the proposal of the Ministry of Communications. These decisions are based on considerations of national security, territorial integrity, public order and disorder prevention.
The applicants ask the ECHR to recognize violations of their rights under Art. 10 (freedom of expression), 18 (Limits on the use of restrictions on rights) and other articles of the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms, Agaliyev noted.
The ECHR has sent relevant inquiries to the Azerbaijani government. The Strasbourg court also asked for clarification on the presence or absence of political motives in the blocking of sites.
These sites were blocked in the spring of 2017.