Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 9 /Trend, K.Zarbaliyeva/
Today the European Court of Human Rights made decisions on two cases with regards to Azerbaijan - the case of Akif Muradverdiyev on participation in the coup and the case of Yagut Ismayilova.
According to information released on the website of the European Court, the Court recognized violation of the third paragraph of the fifth article (right to liberty and security) and second paragraph of the sixth article (the presumption of innocence) of the Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms, and stated absence of requirement for compensation.
The applicant, Akif Shamsaddin oglu Muradverdiyev, is an Azerbaijani national who was born in 1949 and lives in Baku (Azerbaijan). Formerly a high-ranking official of the Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, he was arrested and detained in October 2005 on suspicion of having known, and having failed to inform the authorities, about a failed coup d'état, allegedly planned for November 2005. He was subsequently convicted in October 2006 of, among other offences, embezzlement of public funds and abuse of official power and sentenced to six years' imprisonment, later reduced to five years.
He was released in January 2008. Relying on Article 5 §§ 1, 2 and 3 (right to liberty and security), he complains in particular about the unlawfulness of his arrest and excessive length of his continued pre-trial detention which was extended by a standard formula without addressing the specific facts of his case. He also complains that a joint statement issued by the law-enforcement authorities concerning the pending criminal proceedings against him was in breach of Article 6 § 2 (presumption of innocence).
The next decision was made on a case of Yagut Ismayilova. The applicant alleged that the failure to enforce the judgment of 9 June 1999 violated her rights to a fair trial and to an effective remedy as guaranteed by Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention and her property rights under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
As for the part of the claim relating to the loss of rent, the Court finds that there is a causal link between this part of the claims and the violations found and that the applicant must have suffered pecuniary damage as a result of her lack of control over her flat. Having examined the parties' submissions, the Court awards the applicant EUR 7,000 on account of the loss of rent. The Court considers that the applicant must have sustained some non-pecuniary damage as a result of the lengthy non-enforcement of the final judgment in her favour. However, the amount claimed is excessive. Making its assessment on an equitable basis, as required by Article 41 of the Convention, the Court awards the applicant the sum of EUR 4,800 under this head, plus any tax that may be chargeable on this amount.