AZERBAIJAN: Regime admits freedom of religion and belief violations to ECtHR

[Isabella]

In nine cases concluded in September at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Azerbaijan admitted it violated freedom of religion or belief and the ECtHR has closed the cases. Yet, as lawyer Khalid Agaliyev noted, despite many ECtHR judgments against Azerbaijan, "we don't see any follow-up from these judgments. We want the general human rights situation to change under the influence of these judgments. Unfortunately, this is not happening".

In nine cases concluded in September at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg, Azerbaijan admitted that it violated the rights of people to freedom of religion or belief. The regime pledged to pay compensation to the victims within three months of the ECtHR decisions. On 3 September the Court issued its decisions and then closed all nine of the cases.

Azerbaijan has admitted to the Court its violation of the freedom of religion or belief of Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses in earlier cases (see below).

The government admitted violating the rights of four Jehovah's Witnesses punished for meeting for worship in 2010, and the Jehovah's Witness community in the capital Baku denied permission to import religious literature in 2011. It also admitted violating the rights of seven Muslims punished for discussing their faith in a meeting raided by police in 2015 (see below).

"The Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan hereby wishes to express – by way of unilateral declaration – acknowledgement of the fact that there have been violations of the applicants' rights guaranteed under the Convention [European Convention on Human Rights]," the government admitted in the case of those punished for meeting for worship. The wording in the other cases varied only over whether there was one or more applicant.
http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2605

[Isabella]

AZERBAIJAN: 34 freedom of religion cases pending at ECtHR

Pending at the European Court of Human Rights are 34 known cases relating to violations of freedom of religion or belief, involving 61 individuals and 5 communities. A decision is expected on 22 October in the case of Nina Gridneva, fined for offering religious literature on the street. Other cases cover punishments for leading mosque prayers and holding religious meetings, refusing compulsory military service on grounds of conscience and the state's religious censorship.

In September, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg accepted Azerbaijan's unilateral declarations in nine further freedom of religion or belief cases admitting that it had violated human rights and pledging to pay compensation within three months. The Court has already ruled on 21 such cases, accepting Azerbaijan's admissions of violations in 13 cases and finding against Azerbaijan in a further eight. These decisions leave 34 known cases relating to freedom of religion or belief – involving 61 individual applicants and 5 communities - at the Court awaiting decisions.

The 34 cases – lodged at the ECtHR between 2007 and 2019 – cover cases where individuals have been jailed for leading prayers, punished for refusing compulsorily military service on grounds of conscience, raided for holding religious meetings, faced unlawful house searches, punished for talking to others about their faith, faced censorship of religious literature, faced denial of state registration for their community, and faced movement restrictions because of personal appearance (see full list below).

An ECtHR decision is expected on 22 October in the case of Jehovah's Witness Nina Gridneva, Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18. In September 2010, police in the capital Baku stopped her while she was offering religious literature on the street and seized the literature. 

Read more: http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2606