Fuad Akhmedli considered the compensation from the ECHR to be disproportionate.
The 3900 euros awarded by the European Court of Human Rights are incomparable to four years of imprisonment and the suffering that the family had to endure as a result, said Fuad Akhmedli, an activist of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party. The lawyer reminded that the authorities of Azerbaijan stopped paying compensations based on the decisions of the ECHR from 2024.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", it was previously known that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recognized violations of the rights of Fuad Akhmedli, an activist of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), and ordered to pay him 3900 euros in compensation for moral damage and 500 euros in legal costs. The ECHR established that the national courts did not provide sufficient grounds for keeping Akhmedli in custody, and the statements of the state authorities violated his right to the presumption of innocence. Akhmedli was detained on August 18, 2016, sentenced to four years in prison in June 2017, and was released on August 18, 2020, after serving his sentence.
The 3900 euros awarded by the ECHR are incomparable to the four years spent in prison and the suffering of the family, said Fuad Akhmedli.
"My abduction from the street early in the morning, the search with the destruction of furniture in our house, 13 months of investigation, 4 years in prison, the suffering of my family, the youth stolen from me – and in the end, 3900 euros. <...> The 'Republican of the Year' award I received from the D-18 movement in 2021 made me much prouder," Akhmedli wrote on his Facebook page, the publication of which was translated by a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
At the same time, Akhmedli thanked his lawyer Asabali Mustafayev for his protection and support during the investigation and imprisonment. "This is his 377th victory in the ECHR in the fight against the repressive system, but in the struggle for the rights and freedoms of the country, he continues to write a history that would be enough for 377 centuries," said the activist.
Akhmedli does not expect to receive the compensation himself. "And the purpose for which I wrote this text is not at all the dubious decision of the ECHR and not the compensation from the presidential administration, from which I am sure I will never see a penny. I wanted to thank Mr. Asabali Mustafayev, whom I love very much and consider one of the few true fighters, wish him a speedy recovery, and express my respect. That's all," explained the activist.
The authorities of Azerbaijan stopped paying compensations based on the decisions of the ECHR from April 2024 after the suspension of the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE, reminded one of the Baku lawyers.
"The authorities are trying to explain this by saying that since the delegation does not participate in the election of ECHR judges, their decisions should not be executed. Of course, this is just a trick. In fact, the non-fulfillment of ECHR decisions should be considered a violation of the country's obligations to the organization. But the Council of Europe takes a very cautious position on this issue," said the lawyer on condition of anonymity to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
Lawyer Mustafayev has been defending Azerbaijani opposition members, activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens in courts for almost 25 years, he continued. "During this time, he has won 377 cases. For such principled selfless work, he has faced pressure, been temporarily suspended from practicing law, and faced travel bans from the country," explained the lawyer.
"Caucasian Knot" currently does not have a comment from the Azerbaijani representative to the ECHR Chingiz Askerov.