Azerbaijan’s supreme court Thursday partially complied with a European Court of Human Rights ruling from last April by quashing jailed newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev’s 2007 convictions on charges of terrorism and inciting hatred, thereby recognising that his rights were violated.
But it upheld a third 2007 conviction on a charge of tax evasion and a July 2010 conviction on a charge of possessing heroin while in prison.
The supreme court’s decision constitutes a small positive step but is far from a victory because it means that Fatullayev, who has been detained since 2007, will have to remain in prison until January 2013, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said. The European Court had ruled that he should be released at once.
By conceding that two of his convictions were unjust, the supreme court can claim to have eased the pressure of the European Court ruling without having to free Fatullayev, RSF remarked. The supreme court also refused to comply with the European Court’s order that Fatullayev should be compensated financially.
Fatullayev’s lawyer said he would appeal again to the European Court in another attempt to get him released.
