Rasul Jafarov and the persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan

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Rasul Jafarov and the persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan

Rasul Jafarov is an Azerbaijani lawyer, human rights activist and chairman of the Human Rights Club. In 2014, he was arrested and placed in detention because of his human rights activities. This was part of a wider crackdown on independent civil society.

On the same day that the European Court of Human Rights ruled in his favour in 2016, Mr Jafarov was freed from jail. In April 2020 Mr Jafarov was issued with a full acquittal by the Azerbaijan Supreme Court, with an award of compensation. This removed the bar on him working as a lawyer and restored his right to run in elections.

Mr Jaforov is one of many ongoing victims of the persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan.

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Justice for persecuted opposition politician Ilgar Mammadov

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Justice for persecuted opposition politician Ilgar Mammadov

Ilgar Mammadov is an Azerbaijani blogger, activist and political figure. After announcing his intention to run for President in 2013, Mr Mammadov was detained and prosecuted in order to silence him. Mr Mammadov won a series of cases at the European Court of Human Rights and was released in August 2018. In April 2020 Mr Mammadov was issued with a full acquittal by the Azerbaijan Supreme Court, with an award of compensation. This restored his right to run in elections.

As of April 2020, other Azerbaijani victims of political persuction identified by the European Court of Human Rights still wait for justice (including Anar Mammaldi and Intigam Aliyev). EIN continues to campaign for justice in their cases, as well reforms in Azerbaijan that would allow civil society to operate freely.

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Arrest and detention of election monitoring specialist Anar Mammadli

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Arrest and detention of election monitoring specialist Anar Mammadli

Anar Mammadli is an activist specialized in monitoring elections in Azerbaijan.

In 2008, his NGO was dissolved by justice. In 2013, in his report about the last elections, he concluded that the Azerbaijani elections were not democratic. The same year he was arrested and placed in custody.

The European Court of Human Rights concluded that his arrest was purely political. The reason of his detention was to silent him.

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Unlawful detention of members of a civic movement in Azerbaijan

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Unlawful detention of members of a civic movement in Azerbaijan

Rashad Hasanov, Zaur Gurbanli, Uzeyir Mammadli and Rashadat Akhundov are four activists and members of NIDA civic movement. They fight for liberty and peace in Azerbaijan.

In 2013, they organized protests about governement actions.

The same year, they were all arrested and placed in custody for the organization of these events.

The European Court of Human Rights found that their arrest was politically motivated. The reason of their arrest was to punish them for having criticized the government.

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