CE Commissioner appeals to ECtHR concerning cases of Mamedli and Jafarov

On April 1, the Office of the Council of Europe (CE) Commissioner for Human Rights issued a text of the appeal prepared by Nils Muižnieks to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concerning the cases of Anar Mamedli and Rasul Jafarov. In his appeal, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights expresses his concern over the prosecution of the activists. He also reports on expansion in Azerbaijan of the practice of pressure on NGOs and activists, until their arrests.

Nils Muižnieks believes that the cases against Mamedli and Jafarov are "striking examples of repressions in Azerbaijan against those persons who cooperate with the Council of Europe and other international institutions on human rights protection."

According to Nils Muižnieks, repressions against civil society embarrass the activities in the field of human rights protection.

The report disseminated by the Office of the CE Commissioner for Human Rights also notes that such appeals (interventions) filed by a third party to the ECtHR represent an additional tool to protect human rights. "This is provided by the European Convention on Human Rights. This means providing objective and impartial information on the aspects of interest to the ECtHR," the appeal states.

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