ECtHR satisfies Azerbaijani singer's complaint against violation of her rights to free election

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has released its decision against the government of Azerbaijan on the claim of pop singer Flora Karimova, who had claimed violation of her rights at the 2005 parliamentary elections. The ECtHR has ruled that the government should pay 50,000 euros to the applicant as material compensation, 7500 euros for moral harm and 1600 euros of judicial expenses.

Ms Karimova filed her complaint on May 23, 2006. She ran for a member of parliament (MP) at the 42nd Second Constituency of Sumgait at 2005 parliamentary elections. The claim said that Kerimova was the winner, and her victory was confirmed by the constituency election commission; however, the Central Election Commission (CEC) cancelled the decision and declared the election invalid because of certain violations in vote protocols that had arrived from some polling stations.

Her attempts to right a wrong at local Azerbaijani courts failed, and she had to appeal to the Strasbourg Court (ECtHR).

The latter gave three months to the government of Azerbaijan to make the above payments.

The CEC refrained from any comments on the ECtHR's decision on Kerimova's case referring to the fact that "the issue refers to the judicial system."

Earlier, Natik Mamedov, CEC Secretary, told local media that ECtHR's decisions on particular constituencies cannot cast shadow on the general democratic nature of elections in Azerbaijan.

In his turn, Anar Mamedli, head of the Centre for Monitoring Elections and Teaching Democracy (CMETD), believes that the ECtHR's decisions on the cases of Aliev and Kerimova, although late and non-restoring the claimants' rights in full (that is, failing to make MPs of them), nevertheless will become precedents to be accounted by the authorities in the future. The Strasbourg Court has made it clear that sanctions for election frauds will be inevitable, he said.