ECtHR obliges Azerbaijani authorities to pay compensations to two activists

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has upheld the complaints of Mamed Azizov and Shakhin Novruzlu, activists of the Azerbaijani movement "Nida" about politically motivated arrests and persecutions, and awarded compensation to them in the total amount of EUR 43,500.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 6, 2014, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes sentenced Mamed Azizov, Shakhin Novruzlu and six other activists to imprisonment for the terms of six to eight years on charges of organizing mass disorders. None of the activists pleaded guilty.

Today, the ECtHR has announced its decisions on Mamed Azizov's and Shakhin Novruzlu's complaints. The Court has agreed with their complaints about the violation of their right to liberty and personal security. Besides, the applicants claimed political motives behind their persecution, since they, being members of the "Nida" civil movement, took part in protests against non-combat losses in the army. The ECtHR has found a violation of Article 18 of the European Concept of Human Rights (ECHR) (Limits of imposing restrictions on one's rights).

The ECtHR has obliged the authorities to pay compensations to the applicants for the inflicted moral harm in the amount of EUR 20,000 each. Besides, Azizov was awarded EUR 1500 and Novruzlu – EUR 2000 as compensation of their court expenses.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 18, 2021 at 06:31 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.