The case of Aliyev v. Azerbaijan (application no. 68762/14) concerned the detention of a lawyer and human rights activist on charges including illegal entrepreneurship, embezzlement and tax evasion.
In today’s Chamber judgment1 the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:
one violation of Article 3 (prohibition of torture) of the European Convention on Human Rights related to the conditions of his pre-trial detention, and no violation of Article 3 related to his medical care in detention and to the conditions of a later period of detention, and
a violation of Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) owing to the lack of a reasonable suspicion that he had committed a criminal offence as grounds for his detention,
and a violation of Article 5 § 4 (review of detention) on account of the lack of a proper judicial review of the lawfulness of his detention, and
a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life and communications) because of a search of his office and home, and
a violation of Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) as the Court found that the measures taken against the applicant had been aimed at silencing and punishing him for his human
rights activities rather than for one of the legitimate purposes under the Convention.
The Court found in particular that this case was part of “a troubling pattern of arbitrary arrest and detention of critics of the Government, civil society activists and human rights defenders”.
It called on the Government to take steps to protect such people, ensuring that there were no more retaliatory prosecutions and misuse of the criminal law against them.
<…> Just satisfaction (Article 41)
The Court held that Azerbaijan was to pay the applicant 20,000 euros (EUR) in respect of nonpecuniary damage and EUR 6,150 for costs and expenses for the proceedings before the Court.
