Council of Europe condemns sentence to Ilgar Mamedov

The judgement in the case of Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the civil movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl), is politically motivated and linked to his criticism of Azerbaijani authorities, said Thorbjorn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 17, 2014, Mamedov and Tofig Yagublu, the deputy chairman of the "Musavat" Party, were sentenced to seven and five years in prison, respectively, on charges of organizing riots in the city of Ismayilli in 2013. On April 29 this year, at the re-examination of the activists' complaint, the Azerbaijani Court of Appeal upheld the conviction.

Thorbjorn Jagland has condemned the judgement in the case of Ilgar Mamedov, says the statement of Mr Jagland's press secretary Daniel Oltgen, which was received by the "Caucasian Knot" on April 29.

According to Mr Jagland, the court in Azerbaijan has demonstrated disrespect for the country's legal obligation to enforce the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

In May 2014, the ECtHR found a violation of Mamedov's rights and obliged the Azerbaijani authorities to pay him the compensation in the amount of 22,000 euros. On November 5, 2015, the ECtHR made a similar decision in relation to Yagublu and awarded the compensation of 24,000 euros.

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