On November 10, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced decisions on four cases, covering more than 100 applications from Azerbaijan. They relate to complaints about the ineffective investigation of complaints of ill-treatment, violation of property rights, associations, fair trial.
The decision in the case “Alesker Aleskerov and Others v. Azerbaijan” was made on the basis of the appeal of 82 applicants who complained about the alienation of their property – houses, apartments, land plots, non-residential premises. These facts took place in the Mehdiabad settlement of the Apsheron region. The applicants considered the compensation paid to them unfair. Some have not been compensated for the damage at all.
During the communication, the representative of the applicants said that only 22 of them intended to continue litigation and therefore the complaints of 60 people were excluded from the list of pending cases.
With regard to 22 applicants, the ECHR found a violation of their property rights. The Government of Azerbaijan was offered to submit a written notification on the establishment of the amount of compensation to the applicants within three months. Otherwise, the ECHR will determine the amount of compensation.
In the case of Ismail Bagvanov and others v. Azerbaijan, 14 applicants brought together complaints about expropriation of their property during the demolition of houses for the construction of the so-called “Winter Park”.
The ECHR also found a violation of the applicants’ property rights. As in the previous decision, the government of Azerbaijan was asked to submit a written notification on the establishment of the amount of compensation to applicants within three months. Otherwise, the ECHR reserves the right to award compensation.
In the Elman Agayev v. Azerbaijan case, the complainant Elman Agayev, a defendant in the Nardaran Case, complained that he had been subjected to ill-treatment since his arrest in 2015. His complaints to the local prosecutor’s office and court were not effectively investigated.
He asked the court to recognize the violation of his rights under the Article 3 (prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the course of communication, the parties – the applicant and the government entered into an amicable agreement, under the terms of which the authorities will pay Agayev 8,000 euros.
In the case of Leonid Moroz and others v. Azerbaijan, the applicants, the founders of the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” religious community, Leonid Moros and Kiril Stepanov, complained about the refusal to register this structure by the State Committee for Work with Religious Associations. They asked for recognition of the violation of their rights to freedom of religion, association and effective legal protection.
In this case, the parties also reached a “settlement agreement” and the authorities agreed to pay the applicants EUR 5,500 in compensation.