The United States joins the Council of Europe, the European Union, and others in expressing concern about the decision of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to deny REAL Chairman Ilgar Mammadov’s appeal on November 18, reads US State Department statement.
We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to drop all charges against Mr. Mammadov, to comply with the 2014 European Court of Human Rights ruling on his case, and to release Mr. Mammadov and other individuals who have been incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms, says the document.
* Mammadov was arrested on false charges of organizing riots in the town of Ismayilli in January 2013 and sentenced to 7 years in prison. The ECHR in May 2014 recognized the illegality of Mammadov’s arrest and called for his release.
The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers at the meeting of 20-21 September found a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights and Freedoms in refusal to release Mammadov. Discussing Baku’s refusal to execute the decision of the ECHR, the Committee of Ministers adopted a resolution, viewing the refusal of liberating Mammadov as a violation of Article 46.1 of the European Convention for Human Rights and Freedoms, which requires compulsory execution of ECHR judgments.
The Committee called on the Azerbaijani authorities to fulfill their obligations voluntarily and expressed a hope that the Supreme Court within a reasonable time will consider Mammadov’s complaint.
According to human rights defenders, the reference to Article 46 means that in case of further refusal to release Mammadov, the Committee of Ministers may take sanctions against Azerbaijan. -03D-
Politics
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Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmet Hajiyev, who is on a visit to Iran, was received by President Masoud Pezeshkian on February 2.
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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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