ECtHR awards compensation to widow of murdered Azerbaijani publicist

The Strasbourg Court has concluded that the investigating authorities violated the article on the right to life of the Convention on Human Rights by refusing to investigate the murder of writer and publicist Rafik Tagi, and awarded compensation of 12,000 euros to his widow.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in 2006, Rafig Tagi and Samir Sadagatoglu, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Senet”, were arrested after posting the article “We and Europe”, which caused discontent among Muslims. In Baku, Muslims held protest actions, saying that the Rafig Tagi’s article affirms the superiority of Christian values over Islamic ones, and in Iran, mullahs sentenced him to death under Sharia. In May 2007, Samir Sadagatoglu and Rafig Tagi were sentenced to imprisonment on the charge of inciting interreligious hatred. In December 2007, they were released under the decree on pardoning. In November 2011, Rafig Tagi was wounded in an attack in Baku and died in hospital.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has pronounced the decision on the case “Mailya Tagieva vs. Azerbaijan”. In her complaint, the woman stated that the state had failed to ensure the safety of her husband Rafik Tagi and to conduct an effective investigation into his death.

The ECtHR has concluded that the investigation was ineffective due to the deprivation of members of the Rafig Tagi’s family of access to information about the materials of the investigation, finding that there had been a “procedural violation of Article 2 (right to life) of the Convention on Human Rights.” The ECtHR has pronounced the decision to pay the complainant 12,000 euros to compensate for non-pecuniary damage and 2000 euros to cover legal costs.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 7, 2022 at 03:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.