Problems with the execution of decisions of the ECHR - Council of Europe in Azerbaijan

Strasbourg/31.03.21/Turan: According to the latest annual report of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, further efforts are needed to address systemic problems, including mistreatment or death caused by security forces and poor conditions of detention, as well as the growing number of cases of restriction of rights and freedoms. “Many important decisions remain unfulfilled for several years, and a small number of high-profile cases are not resolved quickly enough.

Member states are obliged to implement ECtHR judgments quickly and fully. This is a mandatory requirement,” said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Pejcinovic Buric.

The report shows that in 2020, the Committee of Ministers closed a total of 983 cases. Of these, 187 (19%) were "leading" - referring to new structural or systemic problems, and 796 (81%) - recurring.

At the end of 2020, 5,233 cases had not yet been fully completed by Member States, of which 1,258 (24%) were “lead” cases and 3,975 (76%) were recurring cases. 634 leading cases have been in progress for over 5 years.

The report states that 581 payments of "just satisfaction" awarded by the ECtHR were made on time in 2020. However, the Committee of Ministers was awaiting confirmation of payments in 1,574 cases at the end of 2020 for more than six months.

The report also touches upon the situation in Azerbaijan. In particular, reference is made to the cases of two applicants, Ilgar Mamedov and Rasul Jafarov. Thus, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan in April 2020, with its landmark decision, overturned the convictions against them.

At the same time, the decisions of the ECHR have not been fully implemented in relation to other persons from this group, which has already been called the "Mammadli group" - human rights defenders Anar Mammadli, Intigam Aliyev, journalist Khadija Ismayilova and others.

At the same time, Azerbaijan, along with Georgia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, is among the countries where Article 18 of the European Convention is violated, that is, there is a practice of politically motivated arrests.

These are the cases of government critics, civil society activists, human rights defenders and politicians. The accusations against them are not supported by evidence, have an ulterior motive to silence or punish and deter other critics.

A number of cases examined by the Committee in 2020 relate to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, which are fundamental principles of any democratic society.

For example, in the case of Khadija Ismayilov (interference with privacy) v. Azerbaijan, the Committee invited the authorities to provide information on the investigation into the crime committed against the complainant and to take measures to protect the private and family life of journalists and the exercise of their freedom of expression.

In 2020, by the decisions of the ECHR, sanctions were imposed on Azerbaijan in the amount of 803,726 euros, a year earlier, 707,010 euros. –06D-