Source: contact.az, Human Rights Europe
On June 18, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment in the case of Mehdiyev v. Azerbaijan. The court found violations of human rights in the case of
Azerbaijani journalist Hakimeldostu Mehdiyev, including maltreatment and unlawful imprisonment by the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Nakhchivan for his journalistic activities,
contact.az
reports.
According to
Human Rights Europe
, Mehdiyev published two articles criticizing the official economic and political policy in a newspaper in August and September 2007.
According to Mehdiyev, he was approached by the head of the district department of the MNS, on 22 September 2007, who accused him of publishing defamatory articles and then ordered four men in uniform to arrest him,
Human Rights Europe
reported. Mehdiyev was taken to the premises of the MNS, where the head of the district department ordered several officials to explain to Mehdiyev “the meaning of his activity as a reporter.”
He was allegedly tortured; in particular, he was hit with truncheons and punched in the head,
Human Rights Europe
quoted him as saying. Subsequently, the head of the district department demanded that Mehdiyev become a member of the ruling political party and to write defamatory articles, which he refused.
Mehdiyev was released after 12 hours, but re-arrested the following morning and taken to a police office, where the head of that office demanded to know why he had informed the press of his arrest, as per the Human Rights Europe report.
The European Court ruled that the government of Azerbaijan is obliged to pay Mehdiyev 10,000 euros in compensation for non-pecuniary damage and 4,000 euros for legal and other expenses.
