Baku / 07.06.18 / Turan: On June 7, the European Court of Human Rights announced a decision on complaints of former members of the civilian movement NIDA, Rashad Hasanov, Zaur Gurbanli, Uzeyir Mammadli and Rashadat Akhundov.
The ECHR found their arrest in 2013 unlawful, seeing in this violation of the rights under Articles 5.1 (the Right to freedom) and 18 (Restriction of rights for political purposes) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ECHR decided that each of them has to be paid compensation in the amount of 20,000 euros for moral damages and from 3,000 to 5,000 euros - for legal expenses.
The interests of Hasanov and Mammadli in the ECHR were represented by the lawyer Asabali Mustafayev, Rashadat Akhundov was represented by Rashid Hajili and Zibeyda Sadigova, and Zaur Gurbanli was represented by Khalid Baghirov.
The young people were arrested in early March 2013 on the eve of the protest action in Baku against the death of soldiers in non-war conditions. They were charged under articles 234.1 (drug trafficking), 228.1 (illegal storage of explosives) and 220.1 (organization of mass disorders) of the Criminal Code. In total, eight people were involved in this case.
On May 6, 2014, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced Zaur Gurbanly, Ilkin Rustamzadeh and Rashadat Akhundov to 8 years in prison, Rashad Hasanov and Mammad Azizov - to 7.5 years, Bakhtiyar Guliyev and Uzeyir Mammadli - to 7 years, and Shaheen Novruzov - to 6 years.
Amnesty International recognized all the convicted as prisoners of conscience. All the convicts, with the exception of Rustamzadeh, were pardoned by the authorities in 2014-16, after they wrote the appropriate appeal. -16D-
Politics
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On January 15, the Yasamal District Court rejected the motion to change the detention measure for Azer Gasymly, the director of the Institute of Political Management, his lawyer, Agyl Laidj, to Turan. "Azer Gasymly stated during the trial that the charges against him were fabricated and related to his socio-political activities," the lawyer said. An appeal will be filed against the court's decision.
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Two people were arrested in Baku for plotting a terrorist attack against the local Jewish community, Israeli media reporting citing the Azerbaijani State Security Service. The target of the assassination was one of the leaders of the local Jewish community. During a special operation, a Georgian citizen, Agyl Aslanov, was detained. Aslanov had a previous conviction for drug smuggling.
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The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has rejected the criticism of the US Embassy over the sentence of activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev to 10 years imprisonment.
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This report is jointly published by International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Campaign to End Repression in Azerbaijan.
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