ECHR Rejects Azerbaijan's Request to Lift Interim Measures on Prisoners

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has made a decision regarding interstate claims under the general title "Armenia v. Azerbaijan." This was reported by the TASS agency.

The court confirmed the importance of applying interim measures in the context of these cases and rejected the request from the Azerbaijani government to revoke them.

The hearings were prompted by a request from the Azerbaijani authorities on December 3, in which the government asked the ECHR to suspend the examination of the interim measures until the applicants provided evidence that they had contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Azerbaijani side argued that the issues raised concerning prisoners pertained to international humanitarian law, and that some of the applicants had failed to properly substantiate their request under the court's Rule 39 concerning interim measures, as well as their claims that there is a real risk of irreversible harm to the prisoners.

In this context, the ECHR noted in its decision on December 16: "The general interim measure from September 29, 2020, as interpreted on November 4, 2020, and addressed to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, should remain in effect as a reminder to both parties of their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights."

For this reason, the court dismissed the Azerbaijani government's request to revoke these measures.