March 18, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks made public his written contribution concerning the case of human rights defender and lawyer Intigam Aliyev on February.
In contribution sent to the European Court of Human Rights the Commissioner underscores that the present case is an illustration of a serious and systemic human rights problem in Azerbaijan, where critical voices are often subject to reprisals and judicially harassed.
Today’s intervention is the second of five that the Commissioner will submit regarding Azerbaijan. The next ones will concern the cases of Rasul Jafarov, Anar Mammadli and Leyla and Arif Yunus. Previous intervention concerned the case of Hilal Mammadov, journalist and editor-in-chief of "Talyshi Sado" - the newspaper in minority Talysh language.
Third party interventions represent an additional tool at the Commissioner’s disposal to help promote and protect human rights. They are foreseen by the European Convention on Human Rights and are based on the Commissioner’s country and thematic activities. These observations do not include any comments on the facts or merits of the case, but provide objective and impartial information to the Court on aspects of concern to the Commissioner.
According to his mandate the Commissoner fosters the effective observance of human rights; assists member states in the implementation of Council of Europe human rights instruments, in particular the Convention; identifies possible shortcomings in the law and practice concerning human rights; and provides advice and information regarding the protection of human rights across the region.