ECtHR obliges Azerbaijan to pay 15,500 euros to Gilal Mamedov

The Azerbaijani authorities had violated the rights of Gilal Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado", guaranteed by the article of the ban on torture, the Strasbourg European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has decided.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in September 2013 Gilal (Hilal) Mamedov was sentenced to five years in a high security colony on charges of treason, inciting interethnic hatred and storage of narcotic drugs.

The ECtHR has announced its decision on Gilal Mamedov's case today. According to the Court, the Azerbaijani authorities should pay Mamedov a monetary compensation in the amount of 15,500 euros.

According to the ECtHR's decision, posted on the website of the Court, the authorities of Azerbaijan had violated Article 3 "Prohibition of torture" of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to Mamedov.

In particular, the decision of the ECtHR states that at his detention in June 2012, Mamedov "was beaten up by policemen in civilian clothes." "Beatings and insults on ethnic grounds continued in the car, already on the way to the police department," says the decision of the Court.

Besides, as noted by the ECtHR, during Mamedov's stay in custody, "his advocate Khalid Bagirov was removed from advocacy," therefore, Mamedov was unable to consult his advocate. Thus, "Mamedov's right to personal defence was violated," states the decision.

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