Azerbaijan authorities recognize violation of journalist Vagifgyzy's rights

Following a decision pronounced by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the government of Azerbaijan has recognized a violation of the freelance journalist Sevindj Vagifgyzy's right to freedom of movement and pledged to pay the journalist the compensation in the amount of 5000 euros.

On May 14, the ECtHR has pronounced the decision under the complaint filed by freelance journalist Sevindj Vagifgyzy about the violation of her right to freedom of movement.

For four years, the journalist was limited in her right to leave Azerbaijan in connection with a criminal case in which she was questioned as a witness. The Azerbaijani government has recognized the violation of the Sevindj Vagifgyzy's rights under Article 4 (freedom of movement) of Protocol No. 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 13 (right to effective legal remedies) of the same Convention and pledged to pay compensation in the amount of 5000 euros, the ECtHR reports.

The Strasbourg Court considered the proposal of the government of Azerbaijan as justified and excluded the case from its further consideration.

When commenting on the decision pronounced by the ECtHR, Sevindj Vagifgyzy has called it an indicator proving that "it is impossible to achieve restoration of justice in courts of Azerbaijan."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 15, 2020 at 12:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.