Rasul Jafarov and the persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan

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Rasul Jafarov is an Azerbaijani  lawyer, human rights activist and chairman of the Human Rights Club. In 2014, he was arrested and placed in detention because of  his human rights activities. This was part of a wider crackdown on independent civil society.

Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

The Court found that the arrest and detention of Mr Jafarov had taken place in the absence of any reasonable suspicion that he had committed an offence. The the actual purpose of his arrest was to punish him for his activities in the area of human rights.

Current situation

Mr Jafarov was freed from jail in 2016. However, his conviction was not then overturned. As such, he was unable to practice his profession as a human rights lawyer, or stand in elections. He was also denied full payment of the compensation awarded by the European Court.

EIN hosted three briefings made to representatives of the Committee of Ministers on Mr Jafarov’s case. These were carried out by EIN member organisation, the European Human Rights Adovcacy Centre (EHRAC). EIN and EHRAC promoted Mr Jafarov’s case widely in their advocacy, both with the Council of Europe and the European Union.

In April 2020 Mr Jafarov was issued with a full acquittal by the Azerbaijan Supreme Court, with an award of compensation. This removed the bar on him working as a lawyer and restored his right to run in elections.

Mr Jaforov is one of many ongoing victims of the persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan. EIN works to ensure that victims of political persecution identified by the European Court 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. We continue to monitor closely the developments in these cases.

Useful links to the Rasul Jafarov v Azerbaijan case (Application No 69981/14):

Video arranged by EIN and EHRAC in 2019 to campaign for justice in Mr Jafarov’s case.