The European Court of Human Rights has asked the government to explain about Gultekin Hajibeylis audio recordings.

Gultekin Hajibeyli

The European Court of Human Rights has asked the Azerbaijani government to explain about recording Gultekin Hajibeylis conversations with foreign diplomats in Baku. They want to know why these recordings were shown on TV.

Gultekin Hajibeyli, a MP complained to the European Court about this. He said his rights were broken. These rights include a trial, respect for private life, freedom of expression and not being treated unfairly by the state.

He said that on October 8 2019 someone secretly recorded him talking to someone from an organization at a restaurant. On October 19 someone also recorded him talking on the phone to someone from an embassy. These recordings were shown on TV on October 20.

He went to the Prosecutor Generals Office. Asked them to find out who did this and make them responsible.. They did not do anything.

The Prosecutor Generals Office said on December 6 2019 that there was no crime here. They did not start a case. Gultekin Hajibeyli did not even get a copy of this decision.

He appealed to the courts in Azerbaijan. They did not listen. The courts said that the Prosecutor Generals Office did not attach the rejection decision to his complaint.

So Gultekin Hajibeyli went to the European Court. He said that the state authorities listened to his conversations secretly recorded them and gave them to a journalist named Mirshahin Agayev. He said this happened because of his work.

The European Court asked the government questions. They want to know if Gultekin Hajibeyli could go to court properly. They want to know if his private life and conversations were respected.

On October 20 2019 a TV channel called "Real TV" showed the recordings of Gultekin Hajibeylis conversations. Many other media outlets also showed them.. Then "Real TV" removed the recordings from the internet.

In the program Mirshahin Agayev said that the US was interfering in Azerbaijans work and called Gultekin Hajibeyli a "spy.". The US embassy said that these accusations were not true.

Gultekin Hajibeyli said that he talked to a diplomat on the phone and met with someone, from the European Union in a restaurant. He thinks his phone was tapped secretly. He thinks officials knew about his meetings and placed a listening device.