ECHR Orders Azerbaijan to Pay 30,000 Euros to Badalyan, Released from Captivity – Edmon Marukyan

Edmon Marukyan, the president of the Bright Armenia party and a lawyer, has announced on his Facebook page:

“Today we received a notification from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that the Republic of Azerbaijan did not file an appeal against the decision made in the case of Badalyan v. Azerbaijan within the prescribed period, resulting in the decision taking legal effect. The court also noted that the implementation of this decision is the responsibility of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

It's worth recalling that the ruling in the case of 'Badalyan v. Azerbaijan (Application No. 51295/11)' was issued on July 22, 2021. In this case, the European Court recorded that the government of Azerbaijan failed to provide compelling and sufficient explanation regarding the serious mental health issues of Arthur Badalyan, which emerged immediately after his release from captivity, which in no way were linked to the conditions of detention and the treatment he received during his imprisonment.

Consequently, the European Court concluded that there was a violation of Article 3 of the ECHR, which states: 'No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.' Furthermore, the European Court stated that the government of Azerbaijan did not present any material or information to prove Badalyan’s status as a prisoner of war.

No arguments were presented that Article 5 of the Convention does not apply to Badalyan’s case, and Azerbaijan did not claim that Badalyan’s detention complied with the first part of paragraph 1 of Article 5 or that any procedural guarantees were provided to Badalyan. Thus, the European Court concluded that a violation of the first part of sub-paragraph 1 of Article 5 also occurred, namely: 'Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the cases and in the manner prescribed by this article.'

In this case, the ECHR has ordered the Republic of Azerbaijan to pay 30,000 euros to Badalyan as compensation for moral damages.”