On March 2, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced 4 decisions on Azerbaijani cases, announced the head of the monitoring group of the ECHR decisions on Azerbaijan, Khalid Agaliyev, with reference to official documents of the Strasbourg Court.
In the case of Orhan Eyubzade v. Azerbaijan, the applicant complained of violation of rights under Article 5 (right to freedom and personal inviolability) and Article 18 (limits of limitation of the application of rights) of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The ECHR recognized the violation of rights under the Article 5 and decided to pay the applicant compensation of 7,500 euros and 1,700 euros for court costs. The applicant complained of administrative arrests for participating in anti-Government events in 2013 and 2014.
In 2014, upon completion of the administrative arrest, he was not released, but brought to criminal responsibility for “violence against a civil servant” and sentenced to 2 years in prison. He was pardoned in 2015.
In the case of “Afgan Mukhtarli and Gulag Aslanli v. Azerbaijan”, the applicants complained about the detention before the protest action and the subsequent fine for hooliganism. The second applicant also complained of a violation of the right to freedom of assembly.
The ECHR found in this case a violation of the rights to freedom and personal integrity (Article 5.1) and to a fair trial (Article 6) in respect of both applicants.
The Court also found a violation of the right to freedom of assembly in relation to Aslanli.
According to the decision, the Government must pay each of the applicants 3,000 euros for moral damages and 1,000 euros for court costs.
In the case “International Research and Exchange Council (IREX) v. Azerbaijan”, the applicant was the representative office of the international non-governmental organization IREX in Azerbaijan.
The statement concerned an illegal search in the office of this NGO and the seizure of all documents and computers. The applicant also complained about the illegal freezing of the bank account.
The ECHR found that the seizure of bank accounts, as well as the search and seizure of the organization’s property violated the right to respect for privacy guaranteed by Article 8 of the Convention. The Government must pay the applicant compensation of 5,900 euros.
In another case, the Government and six applicants reached a settlement agreement and the Government must pay them compensation:
Agababa Jafarov, Sahavat Nasibov, Ruslan Amirov and Rafael Huseynzada must be paid 2,300 euros in compensation for moral damage and a total amount of 2,200 euros to all applicants for reimbursement of court costs.
Another applicant, Fuzuli Huseynov, should be paid 2,250 euros and another 600 euros for court costs.
The 6th applicant in this case, Shahin Maharramli, will receive 2,150 euros for moral damage and 700 euros for court costs.
All applicants complained of violations of the right to a fair trial and freedom of assembly.