Human rights defender Intigam Aliyev

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Intigam Aliyev is an Azerbaijani lawyer and human rights activist. He’s known for winning important cases at the European Court of Human Rights, protecting the rights of other human rights defenders.

In 2014 he was arrested in order to silence and punish him for his human rights activities. His home and his office were searched and his files were seized. He was put in prison, where he lived in a tiny overcrowded cell with poor sanitary conditions. The authorities also closed the NGO he worked at, which had helped to represent people in front of the European Court of Human Rights.

Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights:

The Court found that Mr Aliyev had been arrested unlawfully and that the motivation had been political.

The Court also ruled that the case was one part of a wider tendency of the government to arbitrarily arrest political opponents or human rights activists. It required the government to cease these activities and adopt measures to protect human rights defenders.

Current Status:

 Mr Aliyev was released in 2016. However, he has still not been exonerated and his professional bank account remains frozen. In September 2019 the offices of his NGO were unsealed and his case was transferred by the government of Azerbaijan to the Supreme Court for review. However, in December 2019 Mr Aliyev was subjected to a fresh travel ban.

EIN Activity

In May and November 2019 EIN organised briefings to representatives of the Committee of Ministers on Mr Aliyev’s case. EIN works with members and partners to ensure that victims in this and other European Court cases of politically motivated persecution in Azerbaijan are able to submit information to Council of Europe entities when this is most urgent - and highlights their cases with the Council of Europe and the European Union.

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