{"id":1981,"date":"2017-09-22T10:53:37","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T09:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rcstaging.co.uk\/ehrac\/?p=1981"},"modified":"2021-06-03T02:29:13","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T01:29:13","slug":"azerbaijani-authorities-urged-re-open-rasul-jafarovs-criminal-conviction","status":"publish","type":[30],"link":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/ru\/azerbaijani-authorities-urged-re-open-rasul-jafarovs-criminal-conviction\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0412\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u0410\u0437\u0435\u0440\u0431\u0430\u0439\u0434\u0436\u0430\u043d\u0430 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0437\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0432\u043e\u0437\u043e\u0431\u043d\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0442\u044c \u0443\u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043d\u043e\u0435 \u043f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u043b\u0435\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u0420\u0430\u0441\u0443\u043b\u0430 \u0414\u0436\u0430\u0444\u0430\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0430"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t
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Bu m\u0259qal\u0259ni Az\u0259rbaycan dilind\u0259 oxuya bil\u0259rsiniz<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Rasul Jafarov (Credit:
People in Need\u2019s
\u201cDoubling Down
on Repression\u201d
exhibition.)<\/p><\/div>\n

On 21 September 2017, the Council of Europe\u2019s\u00a0Committee of Ministers[1]<\/u><\/sup>\u00a0called on the Azerbaijani authorities<\/a>\u00a0to reopen the proceedings into Rasul Jafarov\u2019s criminal conviction in April 2015. This is an important precedent, in which the Committee has urged the re-opening of a conviction resulting from a\u00a0\u2018political prosecution<\/a>\u2019.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Their decision comes just weeks after\u00a0EHRAC\u00a0<\/a>(based at\u00a0Middlesex University<\/a>) and\u00a0Khalid Bagirov<\/a>, Rasul\u2019s lawyers, submitted a letter to the Committee of Ministers on his situation, calling for the re-opening of his case. The letter was supported by\u00a0an opinion by leading UK barrister Julian Knowles QC<\/a>.\u00a0 EHRAC lawyers also updated the Committee on the implementation of the case during an event organised by the\u00a0European Implementation Network<\/a>\u00a0in early September.<\/p>\n

The founder and chair of the Human Rights Club, Rasul Jafarov was imprisoned for his activism in 2014. In 2016,\u00a0the European Court of Human Rights ruled<\/a>\u00a0that his arrest and detention had been politically motivated to silence and punish him (in breach of Articles 5 and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights). However, Azerbaijan\u2019s courts have since refused to reopen the domestic proceedings which led to his conviction and imprisonment. As a result of his conviction, Mr Jafarov cannot be a member of the Azerbaijani Bar Association or stand for elections until 2021.<\/p>\n

EHRAC is litigating a broad range of other cases with Azerbaijani lawyers tackling the crackdown on critical voices in Azerbaijan, which began in 2014 and continues today.\u00a0Journalists<\/a>,\u00a0media outlets<\/a>,\u00a0human rights defenders<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0lawyers<\/a>, and\u00a0civil society organisations<\/a>\u00a0have all faced severe restrictions, forcing many to cease their activities or\u00a0to move abroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bu m\u0259qal\u0259ni Az\u0259rbaycan dilind\u0259 oxuya bil\u0259rsiniz<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a>\u00a0The Council of Europe body charged with monitoring the implementation of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>\u00a0The case primarily concerned the legality of Mr Jafarov\u2019s pre-trial detention. The\u00a0European Court found a violation of Articles 5 and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights<\/a>. Article 6 (the right to a fair hearing) was not raised in this case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Translation(s)<\/h3>\n