European Court of Human Rights Upholds the Complaint of Azerbaijani Journalist

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld the complaint of Azerbaijani journalist Ramiz Najafli, and decided to pay him compensation of 13,000 euros.

In particular, ECHR found a violation to Najafli rights that are guaranteed by two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights; "prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment" (Article 3) and "freedom of expression" (Article 10).

The complaint was due to the severe beating Najafli received while performing his professional duties as editor of "Boz Gurd" newspaper during opposition protests on October 9, 2005 at "Sahil" park in Baku.

When police were dispersing protesters, Najafli was beaten by police, suffered a concussion, became unconscious, and was placed into the intensive care ward. Neither law enforcement agencies nor courts of Azerbaijan investigated the incident, and the culprits were not punished.

The court passed a ruling to pay him 10,000 euros for moral damages and 3,000 euros for legal costs. However, the journalist said that the size of the compensation is inadequate. According to him, he still suffers from the trauma and spends about 7,000 or 8,000 manat for treatment.  His relatives help him with money, Najafli told Turan agency. After the injury, he partially lost capacity for work, and had to cease publication of the newspaper, and now works as a teacher. He expressed regret that the European Court did not consider these facts.—06C-