European Court Fines Azerbaijan Over Activist's Arrest

Amrah Tahmazov

The European Court has sided with an activist arrested after a Facebook post.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has made a ruling about the 2023 arrest of public activist Amrah Tahmazov.

The activist wrote on his Facebook page that the ECtHR decided Azerbaijan must pay him 1,125 euros because he was wrongly jailed for 30 days after being taken off the street.

The activist said he got the document on November 7, even though the decision was made in February.

Amrah Tahmazov was arrested in May 2023. He was charged with petty hooliganism and disobeying police, under Articles 510 and 535.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. He got 30 days in jail.

The activist said the charges were false. He claimed he was arrested because of his Facebook posts. He said he was arrested after sharing a post that criticized President Ilham Aliyev over the hunger strike of Alizamin Salayev, the chairman of the Salyan branch of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP).

The ECtHR said Tahmazov's right to a fair trial was violated. The Court said the case was not handled fairly by an independent and impartial court.

The document says Azerbaijan admitted the activist's rights were violated. So, the Court made a judgment based on Azerbaijan's statement and removed the case from its list.

Azerbaijan must pay the activist 1,125 euros: 900 euros for damages and 225 euros for legal costs.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on Amrah Təhməzov's complaint about his 2023 arrest. He received a copy of the decision on November 7, even though it was made on February 6.

The complaint was about Tahmazov's arrest on May 29, 2023. He was charged with petty hooliganism and disobeying police and got 30 days in jail.

Tahmazov denied the charges. He said he was punished for his Facebook posts, especially one criticizing President Aliyev over the hunger strike of Alizamin Salayev.

The ECtHR saw Tahmazov's right to a fair and public hearing was violated because the trial was unfair.

The decision says Azerbaijan admitted the activist's right was violated. So, the Court made a judgment based on Azerbaijan's statement and removed the case.

The Court awarded 900 euros for damages and 225 euros for legal costs, adding up to 1,125 euros.

On April 9, President Aliyev said Azerbaijan would no longer accept ECtHR decisions because the Azerbaijani delegation was excluded from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last year. Aliyev said if the delegation cannot vote in the election of ECtHR judges, the Court's decisions on Azerbaijan will be invalid.

On January 24 last year, PACE did not approve the credentials of Azerbaijani deputies because Azerbaijan did not meet its main obligations to the Council of Europe.

Lawyers say Azerbaijan has stopped implementing ECtHR decisions since March 2024.