Four political prisoners fully rehabilitated in Azerbaijan

Baku

The plenary session of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan fully implemented the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), ruling in favour of the full rehabilitation of Zaur Gurbanli, Rashadat Akhundov, Rashad Hasanov and Uzeir Mammadli. These members of the NIDA protest movement were arrested in 2013.

For illegal arrest and imprisonment of former political prisoners monetary compensation in the amount of 188,000 manats will be paid [approximately $ 110,500].

The now rehabilitated four former political prisoners were arrested in the spring of 2013 after taking part in protests in Baku against non-combat losses in the Azerbaijani army.

During the trial, they were accused of organizing riots, illegal circulating the ammunition, causing damage to other people’s property, etc.

In 2014, the court sentenced Gurbanli and Akhundov to 8 years, Hasanov to 7 years and 6 months, and Mammadli to 7 years in prison.

After some time, those arrested were pardoned by the President of Azerbaijan. After their release, they ceased to show political activity, and at least two of them left the country.

The ECHR recognized the illegality of the arrest of these persons and found a violation of their rights under Article 18 (limits of use of restrictions on rights) of the European Convention.

According to Turan, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe insisted on the full rehabilitation of all applicants from Azerbaijan, in respect of whom the ECHR recognized a violation of rights under Art. eighteen.

From this category of persons, the plenum of the Supreme Court earlier acquitted the head of the Republican Alternative party Ilgar Mammadov and the head of the Baku Human Rights Club Rasul Jafarov.

But human rights defenders Intigam Aliyev, Anar Mammadli, investigative journalist Khadija Ismail, youth activists – the late Bayram Mammadov and Giyas Ibragimov – have not yet been rehabilitated. All of them were recognized as political prisoners and “prisoners of conscience”.

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The leader of the opposition party “Republican Alternative”, a former political prisoner Ilgar Mammadov, commented on today’s decision of the plenum of the Supreme Court.

“On the path of rehabilitation, which we opened to political prisoners on April 23 of last year, the first people after us passed today. Four young people received rehabilitation and moral compensation in accordance with Article 18 of the European Convention.

We have opened this path. We are proud of this. The Committee of Ministers in its September decision asserted: “Taking into account the violations discovered by the court in these cases, in particular the violation of Article 18, there is an urgent need to apply the example of the Supreme Court’s decision in relation to Ilgar Mammadov and Rasul Jafarov”.

Congratulations to all”, he wrote on his Facebook page.