The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has launched an investigation into more than 10 complaints about the violation of Azerbaijan's freedom of information. According to the ECHR website, complaints related to the non-public information about the expenditure of public funds by the Government. In all these affairs government agencies ignored the applicants' requests for information, or the answers were not complete.
The applicants are the Media Rights Institute, Center for Assistance to Economic Initiatives, Association of Assistance to Free Economy, the Committee to Protect the rights of oil workers as well as journalists: Rovshan Hajiyev, Yashar Agazade, Natig Adilov, lawyers: Fariz Namazly and Khalid Agaliyev.
The defendants were SOCAR, the Cabinet of Ministers, of AzTV, the Milli Mejlis, the Ministry of Health, BSU. The complaints raise issues of violations of Articles 6 (right to a fair trial), 10 (freedom of expression) and 13 (right to an effective legal remedy.) Complaints were compiled by the Institute of Media Law. ECHR gave the government time to respond the questions until May of next year.—06D-
Politics
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Elvin Zeynalov, a religious activist living in the village of Mashtaga, was detained on January 31 around noon by individuals in plain clothes outside a store near his home. According to his relatives, later in the evening, Zeynalov was brought back home by people in black clothing, who conducted a search. They took Zeynalov's pants from the wardrobe, put marijuana in the pocket, then "seized" the drugs, filmed the video, and then took the activist away again.
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Aide to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev is on a visit to Iran, where he met with Adviser to the President of the Islamic Republic Mehdi Sanayi.
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On January 31, the trial of opposition politician Tofig Yagublu continued at the Baku Serious Crimes Court, where the examination of documents resumed. Yagublu pointed out the falsification of the search protocols related to the search at his home. He drew attention to the fact that the protocol stated that on December 14, 2023, at 16:00, the investigator completed the questioning of the "victim" and decided to conduct a search.
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During the winter session of PACE at the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg, a "parallel event" was held on January 30 dedicated to the "alarming human rights crisis in Azerbaijan." The hearings were organized by the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and PACE member, co-chair of the Group of Unified European Left (Group of the Unified European), Spanish parliamentarian Laura Castel Fort.
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