On 22 May 2014, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (First Section) notified its judgment in Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan, application no. 15172/13. The cover page states that the judgment became final on 13 October 2014 under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention.

The applicant, born in 1970 and living in Baku, co-founded the Republican Alternative Civic Movement (REAL) in 2008 and was elected its chairman in 2012. He was also Director of the Baku School of Political Studies, part of a Council of Europe-affiliated network. He maintained a political blog. In early January 2013 REAL announced that it would consider nominating a presidential candidate for November 2013; the applicant said he was considering standing (judgment, paragraphs 5–8).

On 23 January 2013 rioting broke out in Ismayilli. On 24 January the applicant travelled there to gather information. On 29 January 2013 the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office issued a joint statement saying that he and Tofiq Yaqublu had gone to Ismayilli and made appeals “aimed at social and political destabilisation.” The same day he was invited for questioning. Criminal proceedings followed. The Court recorded his subsequent detention pending trial (paragraphs 9–17 and following).

The Chamber held, unanimously:

1. A violation of Article 5 § 1 (c). The charges were not based on a “reasonable suspicion” (operative paragraph 2; see also the Article 18 reasoning at paragraph 141).
2. No need to examine Article 5 § 3 separately.
3. A violation of Article 5 § 4.
4. A violation of Article 6 § 2.
5. No need to examine Articles 13 and 14.
6. A violation of Article 18 taken in conjunction with Article 5.

On Article 18, the Court found that the absence of reasonable suspicion showed the authorities had not demonstrated good faith, and that case-specific facts established they were driven by improper reasons. It linked the arrest to the applicant’s blog entries of 25, 28 and 30 January 2013, noting in particular the 28 January post on the “true causes” of the Ismayilli protests and the official statement of 29 January immediately afterwards (paragraphs 141–142).

The Court awarded EUR 20,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,000 for costs and expenses, plus default interest, payable within three months from finality.

Interpretation: this is a documented Strasbourg holding that the applicant’s detention lacked reasonable suspicion and that the restriction of liberty was applied for a purpose not prescribed by the Convention. It is not a criminal acquittal by an Azerbaijani court. Later non-execution is a separate record: the Grand Chamber’s 29 May 2019 infringement judgment (HUDOC 001-193543) is HT-011.

Sources

1. European Court of Human Rights, Case of Ilgar Mammadov v. Azerbaijan, application no. 15172/13, First Section judgment, 22 May 2014, final 13 October 2014, HUDOC 001-144124. https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-144124

1. Official judgment PDF. https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=001-144124&filename=CASE%20OF%20ILGAR%20MAMMADOV%20v.%20AZERBAIJAN.pdf