Arrest and detention of election monitoring specialist Anar Mammadli

Photo: civicsolidarity.org

Anar Mammadli is an activist specialised in monitoring elections in Azerbaijan.

In a 2013 report he concluded that the Azerbaijani elections had not been democratic. The same year he was arrested and placed in custody.

 Judgment by the European Court of Human Rights:

The European Court of Human Rights concluded that his arrest had been purely political. The reason of his detention had been to silence him.

Current situation:

In 2016, Mr Mammadli was released from jail by a presidential pardon. However, his conviction has not been lifted, meaning that he is unable to stand in elections. He has also not been paid the compensation awarded to him in the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.

In September 2019 his case was transferred by the government of Azerbaijan to the Supreme Court for review.

EIN Activity

In May 2019 EIN organised a briefing to representatives of the Committee of Ministers on Mr Mammaldi’s case. EIN helps 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.

Useful links to the Mammadli v Azerbaijan case (Application No 47145/14):

• Final judgment by the European Court of Human Rights (as of 19/7/2018)

• Case details on Hudoc-EXEC