Azerbaijan fined by the ECtHR

The European Court of Human Rights has fined the Azerbaijani government 13,500 euros for violating citizens’ right to freedom of assembly. Six Azerbaijani oppositionists were denied the right to hold mass actions three times.

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On October 6 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced its decision on three cases in which the government of Azerbaijan was the defendant.

Six oppositionists against Azerbaijan

Six applicants, former members of an opposition association called the Public Chamber, applied to the ECtHR because they had applied to the Azerbaijani authorities three times with the aim of holding a mass action and were refused each time.

According to the complainants, their right to freedom of assembly, reflected in the eleventh article of the European Convention, has been violated, and the refusal of appeal is contrary to the law of the country itself. The applicants also requested that the violation of their rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial be investigated.

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The ECtHR ruled that the applicants’ right to freedom of assembly had been violated in this case. On other points of the complaint the court decided not to go into details.

According to the decision of the ECtHR, the Azerbaijani government must pay compensation in the amount of 4,500 euros for each application. This decision contains a verdict on three applications: “Mustafa Hajibeyli, Huseyn Malikov and Rafik Dashdemirov against Azerbaijan”, “Tofik Yagublu and Rafik Manafly against Azerbaijan” and “Gulaga Aslanli against Azerbaijan”. In total, the Azerbaijani government must pay 13,500 euros of compensation.

The court’s verdict also notes that each application must be paid compensation in the amount of 1,500 euros for the provision of legal services.