Azerbaijani government appeals to ECtHR on Fatullaev's case

On July 15 the government of Azerbaijan lodged an appeal to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against the decision on the case of journalist Einullah Fatullaev, who is serving his term in prison.

On Friday, July 16, Chingiz Askerov, Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan at the ECtHR, reported that the complaint was submitted one week prior to the deadline for appeals, which is July 22. If the Panel rejects the complaint, the decision of the ECtHR will be enforced, he said.

The government disagreed with the part of the ECtHR's decision, which demanded immediate release of the journalist. In Mr Askerov's opinion, the Strasbourg Court "exceeded its powers" when making the decision. He believes that the ECtHR shall provide interpretation of the norms of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), while the issues on the merits of the case should be repeatedly considered by national courts.

However, in the opinion of journalist's advocate Isakhan Ashurov, the appeal of the Azerbaijani government has no prospects. "The decision of the ECtHR's judges on this case was unanimous. Even the judge appointed by the government of Azerbaijan had voted for recognition of violation in relation to Fatullaev of Articles 10 of the ECHR dealing with the journalist's right to fair trial," said Mr Ashurov.

As to the terms for consideration of the case by the Grand Chamber, according to Ashurov, since the ECtHR's decision was on immediate release, the consideration of the appeal will be "quick and take no more than a couple of weeks", so that to enforce the decision as soon as possible.

In the opinion of another Fatullaev's advocate - Elchin Sadygov, - as soon as the ECtHR's decision is enforced, automatically the new prison term of 2.5 years should be lifted, awarded under the sentence of July 2 on the charge of illegal drug storage. The point is that the journalist has already spent three years and three months in prison. And since this punishment is regarded as illegal by the ECtHR, it should be counted for the new verdict. Therefore, the journalist should be immediately released, said lawyer Sadygov.