ECHR fines Azerbaijan for violating freedom of expression

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the former National Television and Radio Council (NTRC) violated freedom of expression when it refused to grant broadcasting rights to Obyektiv Radio in 2010. According to the judgment, the government will have to pay the applicants €4,500 ($4,700) in non-pecuniary damages and €2,000 ($2,100) in legal costs.

In 2010, the applicants — Obyektiv Radio founders Mehman Aliyev, Emin Huseynov, and Rasul Jafarov — participated in a tender for a broadcasting license on the 103.3 FM radio frequency. The opening was created after BBC Radio was forced to close, following an announcement that the free broadcasting of foreign radio stations would be suspended starting in 2009.

Aliyev is the director of the independent media outlet Turan, while Jafarov had founded Alternative Radio, also an independent channel.

RFE/RL reported that at the time, there were three contenders in the competition to receive this frequency: Objective Radio, Alternative Radio, and Golden Prince LLC.

In January 2011, the winner of the competition was announced — Golden Prince LLC, using the name Araz Radio.

While the individuals behind Obyektiv and Alternative Radio were well known to the public, the backers of Golden Prince, the winning company, remained more shadowy. Later that year, it was revealed that Golden Prince LLC was linked to Ali Hasanov, the former aide toAzerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on social and political issues.

Although the applicants who disagreed with the tender results sought to have the results overturned in local courts — citing NTRC’s ‘monopolistic’ and biased approach to independent media, as well as a number of other violations — their complaints were not upheld.

Referring to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicants filed a claim with the ECHR that NTRC’s decision constituted an arbitrary interference with their freedom of expression. They cited the ‘flawed procedure’ and the lack of ‘transparency and logical justification’.

Before the court verdict, Jafarov and the government reached an agreement in which he agreed to withdraw his application, and the government agreed to pay him €3,000 ($3,100) in compensation.

The other complainants, Obyektiv Radio and its founders Aliyev and Huseynov, continued their appeal to the ECHR, represented in court by media rights lawyer Rashid Hajili.

In Tuesday’s ECHR ruling, the court noted problems with the NTRC’s procedures, including the lack of a reasoned decision, conflicts of interest, and the failure to provide adequate protection against the arbitrary interference of the freedom of expression.

On 13 February, Aliyev announced that Turan would be shutting down its offices due to financial problems. Although Turan would no longer operate as a strict news outlet, Aliyev said it would continue to publish analytical pieces. Turan is the oldest independent media outlet in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan continues media crackdown — Turan and BBC Azerbaijan forced to close offices

Yesterday, Azerbaijan’s first independent media outlet, Turan, announced it would be closing its office due to financial problems.

OC MediaAytan Farhadova