On March 17, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced a decision on the complaint of Azerbaijani activist Vidadi Iskenderli, said the lawyer Khalid Agaliyev, head of the group for monitoring the decisions of the ECHR on Azerbaijan. According to Agaliyev, the applicant complained about the conditions of detention, pre-trial arrest and its extension.
“The European Court considered that the use of pre-trial arrest violated the applicant’s right to liberty and security of person,” the expert said. The ECHR recognized the violation of Iskenderov’s rights under the Article 5.3 (lack of grounds for pre-trial arrest) of the European Convention. The Strasbourg court decided to pay Iskenderli 3,000 euros for moral damages and 500 euros for legal costs.
However, the ECtHR rejected allegations of a violation of his rights under Art. 3 (prohibition of torture) and 6 (fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
* Vidadi Iskenderli was detained in 2011 at a protest action and subjected to administrative arrest for a period of 15 days. At the Nasimi police station, he was kept in a cramped cell for two days, along with seven others, without food or water.
At the end of his arrest, he was charged with “interfering” in the parliamentary elections in 2010 when he tried to prevent fraud. Iskenderli was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. However, in December 2012, he was pardoned.
After his release, he continued his opposition activities and then emigrated to Europe.
Turan
