The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced today the decision in the case of the director of the Institute of Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS), Emin Huseynov, who was forced into hiding at the Swiss embassy in Baku in August 2014 from persecution.
The ECHR found a violation of Huseynov’s rights under Articles 3 (prohibition of torture), 5 (right to liberty and security,) and 11 (freedom of association) of the European Convention rights and freedoms of citizens.
The court adopted to allocate 15,000 euros to Huseynov and another 5,000 euros for legal costs.
The complaint of Huseynov was associated with the incident in a cafe in Baku in 2008, when the police detained members of the club Che Guevara, who were celebrating the 80th anniversary of the birth of their idol. Huseynov participated in the event as a journalist, but together with the other participants he was detained, and taken to the 22th police department of the Nasimi district. There he was subjected to physical pressure, resulting in dramatically worsening his health. Huseynov was hospitalized and spent four days in the intensive care ward, and then was treated for a long time. Huseynov complaints against the police in the Azerbaijani courts have produced no results.
The IRFS was one of the most active civil society institutions involved in the protection of freedom of press and expression. In August 2014 the office of the IRFS was closed after the search and confiscation of equipment and documents.
Huseynov was forced to take refuge in the Swiss embassy. In absentia him was charged under Article 192 (illegal business), 213 (tax evasion) and 308 (abuse of authority), and on 19 August, 2014 was arrested as a preventive measure, and was announced as wanted.-16D-
Politics
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The short film “Fragments”, by Iqbal Abilov, a Talysh researcher arrested in Azerbaijan, was shown on November 14 at the Madrid Indie Film Festival (MADRIFF) in the capital of Spain. The film was presented by the author's cousin, renowned stand-up comedian Idrak Mirzali-zadeh, who read a letter from Abilov to the festival participants. In the message, Abilov expressed gratitude to everyone who helped make the project possible. He also thanked those who continue to support him during his arrest due to his scientific and public activities. "I hope that justice will prevail soon, my innocence will be proven, and once I am released, I will come to Madrid and watch all the films at the festival," Abilov stated.
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On November 15, a telephone conversation took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Kremlin's press service reported. The two leaders discussed the "practical implementation of a number of mutually beneficial projects in the fields of industrial cooperation and transportation." The mutual interest in further comprehensive development of Russian-Azerbaijani strategic partnership and alliance was confirmed. It was agreed to continue contacts at various levels, according to the statement.
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Eco-activists from different countries held another action on the territory of the COP29 climate conference in Baku on Friday.
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On 15 November, a group of activists held a protest at the COP29 climate conference against the environmental pollution in Africa and the destruction of the continent's ecology by large companies. The activists also expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that a part of the revenues from mining is not channelled into the restoration of nature's damage.
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