Activist tells about late enforcement of ECtHR's decision by Azerbaijan

Azer Gasymly, an oppositionist, has achieved, in a Baku court, a cancellation of his ban on leaving Azerbaijan. The ban was in force for more than six months after the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) declared it illegal, Mr Gasymly has noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in September 2016, the border guards did not allow Azer Gasymly, a board member of the Azerbaijani movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl), to leave the country. In December 2018, the ECtHR found the ban on foreign travels imposed on 11 citizens of Azerbaijan, including Gasymly, to be unlawful.

Azer Gasymly has noted that after the ECtHR's decision, he was illegally not allowed to leave Azerbaijan for more than six months.

Meanwhile, Amina Gadjieva, a sister of Djakhangir Gadjiev, the arrested former head of the International Bank of Azerbaijan, has stated that, despite the ECtHR's decision, she is still not allowed to leave the country.

The ban on travelling abroad has been lifted only from nine out of eleven persons, who had won the litigation at the ECtHR, said Anar Mamedli, the head of the Centre for Election Monitoring and Democracy Training. According to his story, in recent months, the authorities have lifted such bans from about 20 people.