The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calls on Azerbaijan to bring its national legislation and the practice of freedom of assembly into line with the European Convention on Human Rights. The body expressed deep concern that the authorities had not yet announced the ECHR's plans to implement the decisions in the Qafqaz Mammadov case.
The Committee published the Interim Resolution after its last meeting on the implementation of ECHR decisions. The Committee notes that in more than 30 cases, the European Court has found numerous violations of the rights of applicants. The violation are in regards to dispersing, arresting, unjustly condemning, and detaining unauthorised peaceful demonstrations.
The case "Qafqaz Mammadov Group v. Azerbaijan" contains 41 claims of Azerbaijani citizens. The complaints have been related to illegal arrests and restrictions on freedom of assembly since 2012.
Authorities say they have the right to disrupt unsanctioned rallies. However, according to local law, it is sufficient to notify the authorities of the intention to hold a meeting.
The Committee notes that freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental right in a democratic society and is at the heart of such a society. The problems identified by these cases, in particular the inconsistency between local legislation and practice, have been under consideration by the Committee since 2016.
The ECHR has recently announced several decisions on Azerbaijan. The decision on the case "Election Monitoring Centre (EMC) and others against Azerbaijan" announced on December 2 recognised a violation of Article 11 (Freedom of Assembly and Association) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Five people were detained and one of the opposition leaders, Tofig Yagublu, was seriously injured during a rally in Baku on December 1 demanding the release of Saleh Rustamli. The Interior Ministry explained that the dispersal of the rally was uncoordinated and pandemic. He said the allegations that Yagublu was beaten at the police station unfounded.
