23 April 2020, 23:10
Azerbaijani SC acquits Ilgar Mamedov and Rasul Jafarov
In Azerbaijan, the court has reviewed cases against opposition politician Ilgar Mamedov and human rights defender Rasul Jafarov and cancelled the verdicts of guilty. The court has also pronounced the decision on compensations to be paid to Ilgar Mamedov and Rasul Jafarov for their imprisonment.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 26, 2019, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) called on the Azerbaijani authorities to remove criminal records from eight activists of the so-called "Ilgar Mamedov group," the violations of whose rights had been found by the Strasbourg Court. The number of the mentioned activists includes Ilgar Mamedov, Rasul Jafarov, Zaur Gurbanli, Anar Mamedli, Intigam Aliev, Uzeir Mamedli, Rashadat Akhundov, and Rashad Gasanov.
The so-called "Ilgar Mamedov group" is comprised of government critics, civil society activists, and human rights defenders, who have all been subjected to "retaliatory prosecution" by the Azerbaijani authorities, as found by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as part of a broader crackdown on civil society, the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) declares.
Ilgar Mamedov was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment on the charge of organizing protests held by residents of the Ismayilli city. On November 16, 2017, the ECtHR found a violation of the Ilgar Mamedov's right to a fair trial and obliged the Azerbaijani authorities to pay him compensation in the amount of 10,000 euros. In August 2018, the court released Ilgar Mamedov by replacing the real term of imprisonment with a suspended sentence.
Fuad Agaev, an advocate of Ilgar Mamedov, notes that the fight for the restoration of justice took seven years.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 23, 2020 at 02:11 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
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