Azerbaijan
In Azerbaijan, where victims of human rights violations struggle to find justice in domestic courts, international judicial mechanisms are often seen as the primary avenue for remedies and social change. Since 2014 – when the Azerbaijani authorities initiated a massive crackdown on civil society – we have focused on representing human rights defenders, NGOs, journalists and human rights lawyers who faced arbitrary detentions, imprisonment, disbarment, harassment, and violence.
Through our joint strategic litigation with Azerbaijani partners, we also strive to address deeply systemic structural problems in the country. These include the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials – including cases of ill-treatment and death in custody, the persecution of marginalised groups such as LGBTIQ+ people, and the inability to claim property lost during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Key EHRAC Cases
Discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people
Azerbaijan
Detention and ill-treatment of Baku transgender sex workers.
Conflict and occupation abuses
Azerbaijan
Case No. 40167/06 The applicant, Minas Sargsyan, was an Armenian refugee forced to flee from his…
Conflict and occupation abuses
Armenia Azerbaijan
Forum: ECtHR Application Nos: 25589/16, 25576/16, 74566/16, 74508/16 Judgment date: 9 July 2019 Facts The ECtHR has…
Politically motivated cases Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Arrest and detention of Intigam Aliyev.
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Forum: ECtHR Case Nos. 68762/14 and 71200/14 Judgment date: 20 September 2018 Facts The applicant, Intigam Aliyev, is…
Politically motivated cases Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Cases No. 3653/05, 14729/05, 20908/05, 26242/05, 36083/05 and 16519/06 Judgment date: 11 December 2012…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s blocking of news websites.
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Khalid Bagirov’s suspension and disbarment.
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case No. 74609/10 Judgment date: 16 February 2017 This group of cases originated as…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
This list has been compiled by the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) on…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
On 5 September 2018, the Prosecutor General’s Office discharged Elchin Sadigov from the criminal…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case Nos. 6477/08 and 10414/08 Date of Judgment: 19 April 2018 The applicants, Annagi…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Forum: ECtHR Case No. 19842/15 Judgment date: 6 December 2018 Facts While travelling to…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Azerbaijan’s refusal to register the…
Abuses by security forces and law enforcement
Azerbaijan
Ganja case.
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case No. 15172/13 Judgment date: 22 May 2014 In late January 2013, riots broke out…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Irada Javadova is a human rights lawyer who was involved in many resonant cases,…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case No. 5548/05 Judgment Date: 13 November 2014 The Islam-Ittihad Association was an Azerbaijani NGO…
Advocacy and implementation Politically motivated cases Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Arrest and detention of Rasul Jafarov.
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
On 9 June 2020 lawyer Javad Javadov shared information on social media about the…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Forum: ECtHR Case Nos. 65286/13 and 57270/14 Judgment Date: 10 January 2019 Facts The applicant, Khadija Ismayilova,…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case No. 47145/14 Date of Judgment: 19 April 2018 The applicant, Anar Mammadli, is…
Abuses by security forces and law enforcement
Azerbaijan
In the evening of 26 November 2015, masked security forces stormed a house in…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
On 23 April 2018, the ABA issued a decision to suspend the licences of…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case Nos. 48653/13 et al. Date of Judgment: 7 June 2018 The four applicants…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case No. 69981/14 Judgment date: 17 March 2016 Rasul Jafarov, the applicant, is a prominent…
Conflict and occupation abuses
Armenia Azerbaijan
Case No. 40167/07 Judgment date: 12 December 2017 Minas Sargsyan, an ethnic Armenian, lived…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
On 27 November 2019, the ABA made a decision to suspend the licence of…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Forum: ECtHR Case No.: 13274/08 Judgment date: 5 December 2019 Facts The two applicants…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
A member of the Azerbaijan Bar Association (ABA) since 2007, Yalchin Imanov is a…
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Ill-treatment of Leyla and Arif Yunus.
Repression of civil society
Azerbaijan
Case No. 59620/14 Judgment date: 2 June 2016 Leyla Yunus (the first applicant) and…
Who we work with
We work in collaboration with local lawyers in Azerbaijan.
