CE calls of Azerbaijani authorities to punish people, responsible for torturing Sardar Jalaloghlu

Jalaloghlu's defender Fuad Aghayev said the committee considered the execution of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights of January 11 of 2007 on Jalaloghlu's complaint about his being tortured.

The decision of the committee - a body, controlling the execution of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, fixes satisfaction with payment of compensation to Jalaloghlu in the amount of EUR 10,000 and investigation of facts of application of tortures against them.

At the same time the committee urged the Azerbaijani authorities to inform it about the case, which "should meet the requirements of the European convention on human rights".

Aghayev reminded that following the adoption of the decision by the European Court of Human Rights on Jalaloghlu's case, the plenum of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan annulled all court decisions on Jalaloghlu's case in September of 2007, including the decision of Nasimi court judge Gulnara Taghizade and verdict of the Appellate Court. Then the Nasimi district court reviewed the case of 2004 and ordered to send it to the prosecutor general's office for initiating criminal case on the fact of torture of the head of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.

Aghayev said Jalaloghlu has recently been invited to the prosecutor's office, where he was said that the criminal case on the fact of tortures has not been instituted.

"It seems that the prosecutor's office is not interested in execution of international commitments of Azerbaijan", said the defender, voicing hope that the persons, responsible for execution of the verdicts of the European court and reasonable persons and they will execute the decision of the European Court until the end.

At the same time, spokesman for the Prosecutor General's office Vuqar Aliyev announced that the investigation of Jalaloghlu's case on tortures continues.

The leader of the Democratic Party considers that the decisions of the European Court should be executed operatively and the prosecutor's office is unjustly lingering the investigation.

In 2004 Jalaloghlu, being in  prison, appealed to the Nasimi district court about application of torture against him following imprisonment in October of 2003 by officials of the Department for combat with organized crime under the Interior Ministry. Yet the Nasimi district court and the Appellate Court declined the claims and the oppositioner filed a claim to the European Court due to violation of his right for fair court trial and inhuman treatment.

In October of 2004 the Court of Grave Crimes sentenced Jalaloghlu to 4.5 years of imprisonment for organization of mass unrest on October 16 of 2003 and resisting to police.

In March of 2005 he was pardoned with other oppositioners, condemned after the presidential elections of 2003.

Jalaloghlu said he was sentenced illegally and in this connection his second complaint was admited for consideration in Strasbourg.

He filed another claim due to the results of parliamentary elections in November of 2005. He considered that he won at the elections, yet the results of the elections at the voting point were groundlessly eliminated.

On Friday the Parliament of Azerbaijan appointed judge Gulnara Taghizade, whose decision on Jalaloghlu was annulled by the European Court, as judge of a higher court instance- the Sumgayit Appellate Court.

/Kavkazski Uzel/