Today, on July 22, 2021, the European Court of Human Rights notified a judgment Badalyan v. Azerbaijan (Application no. 51295/11), in which it ruled that the Republic of Azerbaijan had violated articles 5 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights by torturing Artur Badalyan and depriving him of his liberty unlawfully. Arthur Badalyan is a civilian who, while collecting mushrooms on May 9, 2009, got lost in the forests near Berd and ended up in Azerbaijani captivity. He was handed over to the Armenian side after spending 22 months in captivity, as a result of which he received a mental health disorder caused by the torture and inhuman treatment he received there. During his 22 months in captivity in Azerbaijan, Badalyan was held in various military facilities. He stated that he was periodically tortured aiming to receive from him confession. He was often beaten on the legs so that he could not feel or move them. The electric wires were connected to his fingers, shocking his body, causing severe pain. The door of his cell was knocked on with metal objects, as a result of which he now suffers from hearing disorders. Thus, the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights states that the applicant was able to establish a prima facie case in which the mental health disorders he received, which were discovered immediately after his release, were related to the time spent in captivity by the respondent State. The court also notes that Azerbaijan did not provide information on Badalyan’s detention facilities, the conditions of his detention, and the daily regime in which he was detained. The fact that no information on the applicant’s whereabouts had ever reached his family before the IRC’s registration as a prisoner, almost one year and six months after his pre-trial detention (see paragraph 4 above), is also a fact from which one can draw conclusions about the attitude towards Badalyan and its consequences. As a result, the Court concluded that there had been a violation of Articles 5 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, that Azerbaijan should provide Badalyan with 30,000 euros in compensation. Azerbaijan can appeal this decision to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights within three months.
The case was submitted and presented to the ECtHR by the lawyers of “Center for Strategic Litigations” HR NGO Edmon Marukyan and Tatevik Matinyan.