Lawyers send complaint of Azerbaijanis convicted in NKR to ECtHR

An appeal about rights violations of Shakhbaz Guliev and Dilkham Askerov, the Azerbaijanis, convicted in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) for a murder and espionage, has been sent by Azerbaijani lawyers to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 29, 2014, a Stepanakert court sentenced Askerov to life imprisonment and Guliev – to 22 years in prison on charges of illegally crossing the NKR border, espionage, storage of ammunition, kidnapping and murder of a minor, killing an Armenian Army officer, and a theft. The defendants denied the charges of murder and espionage, but partially admitted their guilt on other episodes.

As reported by the "Trend" News Agency with reference to Anar Bagirov, the chairman of the public association "Centre for Legal Reforms in Azerbaijan", the application is accompanied by photos and other proofs that the defendants were tortured.

Bagirov has noted said that there are sufficient legal grounds to accept and satisfy the complaint and referred to violations of several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to the above citizens of Azerbaijan.

He added that the application stresses a high degree of importance and the need for urgent consideration of the case, and that further a foreign lawyer may be brought to the consideration of the case, the "News-Azerbaijan" reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.