Lexploria

Communicated on 9 April 2018

FIFTH SECTION

Application no. 31793/10 Elchin HASANOV against Azerbaijan and 13 other applications (see list appended)

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicants are Azerbaijani nationals.

The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows. Further details about the applicants and the facts of the cases are set out in the appendix.

A. Alleged ill-treatment of the applicants

In applications nos. 46419/16, 25054/17, 27247/17, 29896/17, 43608/17, 64510/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17 the applicants were allegedly ill-treated and threatened by law-enforcement officers during arrest and (or) in police custody with a view of extracting confessions from them. The applicants sustained various bodily injuries. Once in police custody the applicants were denied access, inter alia, to lawyers of their own choice and were not able to inform their families about their arrest. The applicants made confession statements and later denied them, claiming that they had been extracted under duress.

The applicant, a journalist, in application no. 31793/10 was allegedly beaten up by police officers when he was recording the events in the wake of the dispersal of a peaceful assembly.

The applicant in application no. 64510/17 was shot during arrest and taken to hospital. He was shackled to bed for a period of forty-three days during his stay in hospital. After transfer from hospital to the Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre, the applicant was denied medical care.

B. The remedies used by the applicants

The applicants lodged criminal complaints with the prosecuting authorities, requesting opening of a criminal case into their claims.

The applicants underwent forensic medical examination. The injuries they sustained were confirmed by the relevant medical documents mentioned in the appendix, save in respect of the applicants in applications nos. 31793/10, 25054/17, 34133/17 and 43608/17. The applicants in applications nos. 25054/17 and 43608/17 complained to the domestic authorities, inter alia , of the failure of the forensic experts to document the signs of injuries sustained by them. The applicants in applications nos. 31793/10 and 34133/17 complained that the forensic medical examination was held belatedly.

The applicants i n applications nos. 46419/16, 25054/17, 27247/17, 29896/17, 43608/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17 also complained that they had been held in the temporary pre-trial detention facility of the Organised Crime Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan (“the OCU”) for periods in excess of the statutory time-limit.

The applicants in applications n os. 31793/10, 46419/16, 29896/17 and 34133/17 complained of a violation of their freedom of expression.

In application no. 75035/17 the applicant has not received reply to his criminal complaint and lodged a complaint with the domestic courts. In all other cases the prosecuting authorities refused to open criminal cases into the applicants ’ complaints. The prosecuting authorities rejected the applicants ’ complaints of ill-treatment as unjustified. They also held in applications nos. 27247/17, 29896/17, 64510/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17 that the bodily injuries the applicants had sustained were caused during their arrest in response to their resistance to law-enforcement officers.

In all cases the domestic courts dismissed the applicants ’ complaints of the lack of an effective investigation into their complaints.

C. Conditions of transport

Following their arrest outdoors the applicants in applications nos. 25054/17, 27247/17, 29896/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17 were transported to the pre-trial detention facility by the furniture-moving vans.

D. The right of individual application

On 8 August 2014 the lawyer of the applicants in applications nos. 31793/10 and 15996/12, Mr I. Aliyev, was arrested on charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of authority. During the search of his office, a number of documents were seized by the State authorities, including all the case files relating to applications before the Court that were in the possession of Mr I. Aliyev, as a representative. On 25 October 2014 some of the seized documents were returned to Ja vad Javadov , Mr. I. Aliyev ’ s counsel. By a fax dated 28 August 2014, Mr I. Aliyev informed the Court of the seizure of the case files claiming a breach of Article 34 of the Convention in respect of all the applications affected. In his letters sent to the Court in September 2014 Mr I. Aliyev reiterated the complaint concerning the seizure of the case files.

COMPLAINTS

1. The applicants complain under Article 3 of the Convention of being subjected to ill-treatment and absence of an effective investigation in this connection .

2. The applicants in applications nos. 25054/17, 27247/17, 29896/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17 complain under Article 3 of the Convention of the conditions of their transport to the pre-trial detention facilities after their arrest.

3. The applicant in application no. 64510/17 complains under Article 3 of the Convention of the lack of medical treatment at the pre-trial detention facility.

4. The applicants in applications 31793/10, 29896/17, 34133/17 and 43608/17 complain under Article 10 of the Convention of a violation of their right to freedom of expression.

5. The applicants in applications nos. 24247/17, 64510/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17 complain under Article 13 of the Convention that they did not have at their disposal effective domestic remedies for their complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.

6. The applicants in applications nos. 31793/10 and 15996/12 complain under Article 34 of the Convention that by seizure of their case files from the office of their representative, Mr I. Aliyev, on 8 and 9 August 2014 the State hindered the effective exercise of their right of individual application .

COMMON QUESTIONS

1. Were the applicants subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention?

2. Did the authorities carry out an effective official investigation into the applicants ’ allegations of ill-treatment, as required by Article 3 of the Convention (see Labita v. Italy [GC ], no. 26772/95, § 131, ECHR 2000 ‑ IV)?

The Government are requested to submit copies of all documents concerning the applicants ’ cases.

CASE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

1. Applications nos. 46419/16, 25054/17, 27247/17, 29896/17, 64510/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17

1. Have the authorities discharged their burden of proof by providing a plausible or satisfactory and convincing explanation of how the applicants ’ injuries were caused (see Selmouni , v. France [GC], no. 25803/94, § 87, ECHR 1999 ‑ V; Salman v. Turkey [GC], no. 21986/93, § 100, ECHR 2000 ‑ VII; and Bouyid v. Belgium [GC], no. 23380/09, § 83 and further, ECHR 2015 )? In particular,

- did the State agents plan the arrest operations in advance? Did they have sufficient time to evaluate the possible risks and to take all necessary measures for carrying out the arrest? Was the recourse to physical force during the arrest made strictly necessary by the applicants ’ own conduct (see Rizvanov v. Azerbaijan , no. 31805/06 , § 49, 17 April 2012)?

- did the police officers report to their supervisor about the use of physical force or/and special means during the arrest (see Shamardakov v. Russia , no. 13810/04, § 133, 30 April 2015)? Did the reports provide detailed explanation about the circumstances of the applicants ’ arrest, including the use of force against them?

- Were the applicants given access to a doctor and, if so, when? In particular, were the applicants taken without delay before a medical professional, notably with a view to record the injuries sustained by them during the arrest ( Mammadov v. Azerbaijan , no. 34445/04, § 65, 11 January 2007) and to provide an appropriate medical care?

2. The Government are requested to address, inter alia , the following points concerning the circumstances surrounding the applicants ’ alleged ill ‑ treatment:

- Were they given the possibility of informing their families about their apprehension and, if so, when?

- Were they given access to a lawyer and, if so, when? Was a lawyer on duty invited by authorities or a lawyer of the applicants ’ own choice? If given initially a State-appointed lawyer, when did the applicants receive access to a lawyer of their choice?

- How long were the applicants held at the temporary pre-trial detention facility of the OCU? On which legal grounds (the national legislation and (or) court orders) were the applicants held at the OCU? In this connection, what is the difference between the OCU ’ s temporary pre-trial detention facility and the Baku Pre-Trial Detention Facility in terms of the conditions of detention, in particular, the regime applicable to the detainees?

2. Applications nos. 25054/17, 27247/17, 29896/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17

What were the conditions of transport of the applicants to the OCU after their apprehension by the authorities?

3. Applications nos. 24247/17, 64510/17, 69510/17, 70443/17, 70521/17, 70535/17 and 75035/17

Did the applicants have at their disposal an effective domestic remedy for their complaints under Article 3 of the Convention, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?

4. Application no. 64510/17

Was the applicant provided with adequate medical care in the pre-trial detention centre?

5. Applications nos. 31793/10, 29896/17, 34133/17 and 43608/17

Has there been an interference with the applicants ’ freedom of expression within the meaning of Article 10 § 1 of the Convention? If so, was that interference prescribed by law and necessary in terms of Article 10 § 2 of the Convention?

6. Applications nos. 31793/10 and 15996/12

In view of the seizure of the applicants ’ case files from Mr I. Aliyev ’ s office on 8 and 9 August 2014, has the State hindered the effective exercise of the applicants ’ right of individual application under Article 34 of the Convention?

APPENDIX

No.

Application

no . Lodged on

Applicant name,

date of birth and place of residence

Represented by

Date of arrest,

location of the detention facility

Date(s) of medical examination

Applicants ’ complaints about ill ‑ treatment to the domestic authorities (first complaint, latest refusal to open a criminal case, the latest domestic courts ’ decision)

31793/10

09/06/2010

Elchin HASANOV

Baku

Intigam ALIYEV

N/a

17/07/2009

10/05/2009

First complaint to the prosecuting authority

17/07/2009

Refusal to open a criminal case

09/12/2009

Baku Court of Appeal

15996/12

11/02/2012

Bakhtiyar HAJIYEV

28/03/1982

Ganja

Intigam ALIYEV

04/03/11

Ganja city Nizami district police office

07/03/11

Unspecified

First complaint to the prosecuting authority

17/03/2011

Refusal to open a criminal case

01/09/2011

Baku Court of Appeal

46419/16

03/08/2016

Vugar ABISHOV

10/08/1978

Sumgayit

Sirajaddin KARIMOV

23/10/15

The OCU;

Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre

03/11/2015

23/11/15

26/10/2015

First complaint to the judge ordering his remand in custody

29/10/15 – 20/11/15

Complaint to the prosecuting authorities

05/12/2015

Refusal to open a criminal case

05/02/2016

Baku Court of Appeal

25054/17

07/03/2017

Zakir MUSTAFAYEV

12/01/1977

Baku

Yalchin IMANOV

25/12/2015

The OCU

27/05/2016

Unspecified

First complaint to the prosecuting authority

27/05/2016

Refusal to open a criminal case

16/09/2016

Baku Court of Appeal

27247/17

29/03/2017

Abbas HUSEYNOV

03/03/1987

Baku

Fariz NAMAZLI

26/11/2015

The OCU;

Baku Pre-trial detention centre

30/11/2015

Unspecified

First complaint to the prosecuting authority

16/06/2016

Refusal to open a criminal case

20/09/16

Baku Court of Appeal

29896/17

13/04/2017

Taleh BAGIROV

23/06/1984

Baku

Elchin SADIQOV

26/11/2015

The OCU

14/12/2015

25/01/2010

First complaint to the judge (judicial supervision procedure)

25/01/2010

First complaint to the prosecuting authority

27/05/2016

Refusal to open a criminal case

13/10/2016

Baku Court of Appeal

34133/17

01/05/2017

Aslan ISMAYILOV

20/02/1958

Baku

N/a

12/06/ 20 13

30/05/ 20 13

First complaint to the prosecuting authority

28/06/2013

Refusal to open a criminal case

16/12/2009

Baku Court of Appeal

43608/17

06/06/2017

Fikrat IBISHBEYLI

17/09/1976

Baku

Elchin SADIQOV

30/06/16

The OCU;

Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre

11/10/ 20 16

20/09/ 20 16

Criminal complaint to the prosecuting authority

17/10/ 20 16

Refusal to open a criminal case

05/12/ 20 16

Baku Court of Appeal

64510/17

21/08/2017

Shamil ABDULLAYEV

23/01/1985

Baku

Elchin SADIQOV

08/01/16

Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre

27/11/ 20 15

14/11/2016

Unspecified

First complaint to the prosecuting authority

31/10/2016

Refusal to open a criminal case

21/02/ 20 17

Baku Court of Appeal

69510/17

08/09/2017

Alibala VALIYEV

27/05/1980

Baku

Nemat KARIMLI

26/11/15

The OCU;

Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre

30/11/2015

20/10/2016-14/11/2016

Unspecified time

First complaint to the court

02/12/2016

Refusal to open a criminal case

11/08/2017

Baku Court of Appeal

70443/17

11/09/2017

Abbas GULIYEV

27/03/1995

Baku

Nemat KARIMLI

26/11/15

The OCU;

Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre

30/11/2015

20/10/2016

Unspecified time

First complaint to the prosecutor office

02/12/2016

Refusal to open a criminal

10/08/2017

Baku Court of Appeal

70521/17

14/09/2017

Rasim JABRAYILOV

15/04/1982

Baku

Zibeyda SADIQOVA

26/11/15

The OCU;

Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre

27/11/2015

03/10/2016

05/09/2016

First complaint to the prosecutor office

01/11/2016

Refusal to open a criminal case

14/03/2017

Baku Court of Appeal

70535/17

17/09/2017

Ramin YARIYEV

17/02/1998

Baku

Elchin SADIQOV

26/11/15

The OCU;

Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre

08/12/15

20/10/2016

05/09/2016

First complaint to the prosecutor office

31/10/2016

Refusal to open a criminal case

09/03/2017

Baku Court of Appeal

75035/17

1 1/10/2017

Ali NURIYEV

13/09/1991

Baku

Nemat KARIMLI

30/11/2015

20/10/2016

Unspecified time

First complaint to the prosecutor office

23/08/2017

Baku Court of Appeal

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HASANOV v. AZERBAIJAN and 13 other applications

HASANOV v. AZERBAIJAN and 13 other applications

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