ECHR questions Azerbaijan over man jailed after calling ombudsman

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has requested formal explanations from the Azerbaijani government over the brief imprisonment of a man who criticised the country's public rights watchdog.

Niyamaddin Aslanzade was handed a five-day administrative jail term in August 2021 for "minor hooliganism" after repeatedly calling the Ombudsman's office.

According to reports by the US-funded broadcaster Radio Liberty, the Strasbourg court has now opened formal communications with Baku over alleged violations of Aslanzade's rights to a fair trial and freedom of expression.

The case stems from calls Aslanzade made to the Ombudsman's office while his brother, the jailed journalist Polad Aslanov, was on a hunger strike.

Aslanzade said he had repeatedly phoned the state human rights body to request that its representatives visit his brother, whose health was reportedly deteriorating in prison.

He said that after receiving no response, he accused the officials of inaction and criticised them during his final phone call.

The Ombudsman's office subsequently contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs, claiming that Aslanzade had insulted its staff.

He was detained on 26 August 2021, and the Narimanov District Court sentenced him to five days in prison.

While the court ruling stated that Aslanzade had confessed, he denied this in his appeal, maintaining he had only criticised the office's inaction and had not used insults.

Aslanzade's defence requested that the court listen to the recorded calls and question the official who claimed to have been insulted, but the judge rejected the petitions.

In his application to the ECHR, he argues that Azerbaijan violated Article 6 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and that he was denied access to his family and a lawyer of his choice during his arrest.

His brother, Polad Aslanov, the chief editor of the news website xeberman.com, was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to nearly seven years in prison on espionage charges.

Aslanov has consistently denied the charges, claiming his arrest was retaliation for his investigative reporting into government corruption.

Local human rights groups recognise him as a political prisoner, and the ECHR has previously ruled against the Azerbaijani government regarding his detention.