Strasbourg, 14 October 2025 — The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today announced its decision on the complaint filed by investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova against Azerbaijan. The ECHR ruled unanimously that Azerbaijan had violated Ismayilova’s right to a fair trial, specifically citing violations of Articles 6.1 and 6.3(d) of the European Convention, which relate to the right to question witnesses.
The case stemmed from Ismayilova’s 2017 appeal concerning her 2015 conviction for “defamation”. The initial ruling by the Binəqədi District Court resulted in a fine of 2,500 manat, based on a 2011 Facebook post where she was accused of defaming Elman Həsənov (Bayraqdar).
The ECHR noted that the journalist’s conviction was largely based on a letter presented as evidence by the Anti-Terrorism Centre of the Ministry of National Security (MTN). Despite this document being deemed decisive evidence for her conviction, local courts rejected Ismayilova’s repeated requests to question the MTN employee who signed the letter. The ECHR concluded that the failure to call this key witness without justifiable reason severely restricted the right to defense and thus violated the fairness of the trial process.
As a result of the ruling, the Azerbaijani state must pay Khadija Ismayilova 3,600 euros for moral damages, in addition to 1,500 euros for court expenses. The ECHR found it unnecessary to separately examine her complaint regarding the violation of freedom of expression (Article 10).
The decision was made public on October 14 by lawyer Fariz Namazlı. With this ruling, the number of successful cases against Azerbaijan before the ECHR has risen to 32, concerning 59 applicants.