The Defender Center initiates a campaign demanding the opening of Azerbaijan's land borders

The Defender Legal Center initiates a public campaign demanding the opening of Azerbaijan's land borders.

In particular, it is proposed to massively file individual complaints to the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan against the Cabinet of Ministers' decision to close the land borders.

"For almost five years now, Azerbaijan's land borders have been closed under the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries that closed their borders canceled these decisions in 2022. The WHO announced the end of the pandemic in 2023. There are no legal grounds or health benefits for keeping the borders closed," Samad Rahimli, head of the Defender Center, told Turan.

This restriction is illegitimate, since it violates the freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution and the European Convention, he emphasized.

And the civilized way to fight for its cancellation is to file mass individual complaints to the Constitutional Court, the lawyer added.

According to him, the closed borders also create financial difficulties for citizens, forcing them to travel by air, which is many times more expensive.

He noted that after the holidays, the "Defender" center will present ready-made samples of filing complaints to the Constitutional Court.

If the Constitutional Court refuses to accept applications or does not satisfy them, the “Defender” center is ready to help citizens file complaints with the ECHR, Rahimli noted.