PublicSquareMagazine

Azerbaijan · Crime & Law by city

Azerbaijan · Baku

The arrests after an act of protest graffiti

Two civic activists were arrested in Baku in May 2016 after painting protest graffiti on a statue.

Illustration of an arrest near a statue in Baku.
Editorial illustration

Timeline

  1. May 2016: Two activists are arrested following protest graffiti and prosecuted on drug charges.
  2. March 2019: Both are released under a presidential pardon.
  3. 2020: The European court finds ill-treatment and failures to investigate.

What the records document

The activists said they were assaulted following arrest. They were prosecuted on drug charges. In 2020 the European Court of Human Rights concluded that both applicants had been ill-treated and that the authorities failed to carry out effective investigations.

Case outcomes

The activists had been released under a presidential pardon in March 2019. The European court considered the detentions and concluded that the actual purpose was to punish them for the graffiti. European Court of Human Rights judgment

Court registrar’s case background