The case concerned a complaint made by Khalid Bagirov, a lawyer and member of the Azerbaijani Bar Association (ABA), that he had been suspended from practising law and then disbarred because of statements he had made about police brutality and the functioning of the judicial system in the country.
The Court found a violation of Article 8 (right to private life) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the Convention.
Read MoreThe applicant, Natig Mehman oglu Jafarov is a co-founder of the political movement Republican Alternative Civic Movement (REAL). In 2016 REAL launched a campaign against amendments to the Constitution envisaged by a draft Referendum Act. In August 2016 Mr Jafarov was arrested on the criminal charges of illegal entrepreneurship and aggravated use of power. The ECtHR found a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 5 (rights to liberty and security) and Article 18 (limitation on use of restriction on rights).
Read MoreThe case concerned two applicants arrested and prosecuted on drug charges, which they alleged were false and that they were in fact arrested and detained because of the political graffiti they had painted on the statue of a former president. Both applicants were members of NIDA, a civil society movement. They were arrested in May 2016 after having painted a graffiti on a statue of Heydar Aliyev, the former president of Azerbaijan.
The Court found a violation of Articles 3, 5, 10 and 18 of ECHR.
Read MoreKhadija Ismayilova is a well-known Azerbaijani investigative journalist, whose work has been highly critical of the government. Due to her activities, Ms Ismayilova has been the victim of harassment, threats, a smear campaign and an unjustified prosecution. These events led to a series of judgments in her favour at the European Court of Human Rights - which remain unimplemented.
Read MoreS.D. is a Turkish national who had been arrested and tortured by the Turkish authorities due to his journalistic activities and political views, before fleeing the country and entering Greece irregularly.
The Court found that S.D.’s treatment in detention had been inhuman and degrading.
The Committee of Ministers examines S.D. v. Greece along with no fewer than 30 judgments brought against Greece which concern the wrongful detention of asylum seekers, failure to provide clear information, the possibility of challenging the legality of detention itself and conditions of detention.
Read MoreRasul Jafarov is an Azerbaijani lawyer, human rights activist and chairman of the Human Rights Club. In 2014, he was arrested and placed in detention because of his human rights activities. This was part of a wider crackdown on independent civil society.
On the same day that the European Court of Human Rights ruled in his favour in 2016, Mr Jafarov was freed from jail. In April 2020 Mr Jafarov was issued with a full acquittal by the Azerbaijan Supreme Court, with an award of compensation. This removed the bar on him working as a lawyer and restored his right to run in elections.
Mr Jaforov is one of many ongoing victims of the persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan.
Read MoreThe ECtHR has found that on numerous occasions Polish courts have issued unreasonable criminal convictions for journalists and others. This risks a chilling effect to silence public discourse in the country. The first case highlighting this problem dates back to 2010.
Read MoreAt a public demonstration held during the King’s official visit to Girona in September 2007, Enric Stern Taulats and Jaume Roura Capellera set fire to a photograph of the royal couple. They were prosecuted and convicted for insulting the Crown. Both were initially sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonoment, though this was later made conditional on the payment of a fine. The European Court of Human Rights ruled the convictions disproportionate. The Spanish authorities have yet to take action in relation to the free speech issue involved.
Read MoreAccording to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other country in the world. Ahmet Şık is a prominent Turkish investigative journalist, who was arrested and detained for his journalism in 2011.
Read MoreSerious and continuing problems with freedom of expression in Turkey have been revealed by the Court’s judgments since 1998. The case of Nedim Şener is one example. He was arrested and detained for over a year, as a result of his work as an investigative journalist.
Read MoreIn 2009 the European Court of Human Rights held that the Moldovan government had exercised political control over the main broadcaster in the country, the public media company. The government has not submitted public documents on the implementation of the case since 2011.
Read MoreAnar Mammadli is an activist specialized in monitoring elections in Azerbaijan.
In 2008, his NGO was dissolved by justice. In 2013, in his report about the last elections, he concluded that the Azerbaijani elections were not democratic. The same year he was arrested and placed in custody.
The European Court of Human Rights concluded that his arrest was purely political. The reason of his detention was to silent him.
Read MoreAt a press conference in May 1996, Constantin Bucur publicly revealed allegations that the Romania authorities had been illicitly intercepting the phone calls of journalists, politicians and members of civil society. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. After the European Court of Human Rights ruled in his favour and found a lack of protections against unjustified government surveillance, citizens still wait for effective reforms.
Read MoreGeorgiy Gongadze—a journalist and longtime critic of human rights practices in Ukraine—was kidnapped and brutally murdered in 2000. The European Court of Human Rights found that the authorities had failed to take seriously the numerous threats that Georgiy had encountered in the run up to his death. The case remains unimplemented, because journalists in Ukraine continue to be threatened and assaulted on a regular basis - and the Gongadze case has never been properly investigated. EIN member the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union advocates for the full implementation of the case, through the establishment of proper protections of all journalists.
Read MoreIn October 2010, Oleksiy Vyerentsov was arrested and sentenced to three days administrative detention. His crime: organising a peaceful demonstration in protest against corruption in the Ukrainian prosecution service. Left with inadequate time to prepare his defence, and deprived of the opportunity to consult with a lawyer, Oleksiy decided to lodge a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.
In its judgment, the Court found several violations of the European Convention including the right to peaceful assembly and the right to a fair trial.
Read MoreEuropean Implementation Network
EIN works with NGOs and others across Europe, to make judgments of the European Court of Human Rights provide real protections of fundamental rights.
Making human rights a reality
