CE's CoM calls on Azerbaijani authorities to follow ECtHR's decisions

The Committee of Ministers (CoM) of the Council of Europe (CE) regrets that the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijani has upheld the verdict to the oppositional politician Ilgar Mamedov, despite the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The EC's CoM has called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release Ilgar Mamedov and fulfil the demand of the ECtHR on revision of the laws on measures of liability for defamation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 17, 2014, Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl), was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment on the charge of organizing mass riots in the city of Ismayilli in 2013. In May 2014, the ECtHR recognized the verdict as politically motivated.

The decision of the EC's CoM states that the detention of Ilgar Mamedov is a "flagrant violation of the Azerbaijan's obligations."

According to Intigam Aliev, an Azerbaijani lawyer and human rights defender with many years of experience in representing the interests of citizens of Azerbaijan at the ECtHR, the government is certainly aware of the consequences that may result from the ignoring policy, taking into account the economic difficulties in Azerbaijan. Therefore, the human rights defender believes that a group of political prisoners, including Ilgar Mamedov, will be released in the nearest future.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.