ECHR Found Violation of Neymat Panahli�s Rights

Baku / 20.10.17 / Turan: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found violation of the rights of the chairman of the National Statehood Party of Azerbaijan, Neymat Panahli.

In January 2011, the court in Baku selected a preventive measure in respect of Panahli in the form of arrest for a period of 2 months in connection with the charges brought against him under articles 127.2.3 (causing less serious harm to health in a generally dangerous manner committed in hooligan intentions) and 221.3 (hooliganism with the use of weapons, or an object used as a weapon) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Later, the term of pre-trial arrest was extended for another month.

The applicant, in his complaint to the ECHR, challenged the legality of his detention, considering the decisions of the Azerbaijani courts to be illegal.

The ECHR concluded that the Azerbaijani law enforcers used a "standard formula, which simply listed the grounds for detention, without touching on specific facts relating to the applicant's case," for the pretrial arrest of Panahli.

According to the decision of the ECHR, the Azerbaijani authorities did not submit to the Strasbourg Court "sufficient justification for the need for the applicant's detention in custody".

ECHR decided that Panahli has to be paid EUR 3,000 in compensation for moral losses and another EUR 1,000 to recover court costs.

Panahli's interests in the ECHR were represented by the well-known Azerbaijani lawyer and human rights activist Intigam Aliyev. -06D--