THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Applications nos. 23311/18 and 32546/18
Arzu HAJIYEVA against Azerbaijan
and Rufat SAFAROV against Azerbaijan
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 20 November 2025 as a Committee composed of:
Diana Kovatcheva, President,
Canòlic Mingorance Cairat,
Vasilka Sancin, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the cases,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants and their representatives is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the alleged ill-treatment were communicated to the Azerbaijani Government (“the Government”). In application no. 23311/18, complaints based on the same facts were also communicated under Article 10 of the Convention.
The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicants agreed to waive any further claims against Azerbaijan in respect of the facts giving rise to these applications, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay them the amounts detailed in the appended table. These amounts will be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above‑mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
The payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases.
THE LAW
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications.
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 11 December 2025.
Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Kovatcheva
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(alleged ill-treatment)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of applicant’s declaration
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage
per applicant
(in euros)[1]
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)[2]
23311/18
07/05/2018
Arzu
Atdikhan gizi
HAJIYEVA
1973
Javad
JAVADOV
Baku
Art. 10 (1) – breach of freedom of expression
07/07/2025
15/02/2025
7,500
850
(to be paid directly to the representative Mr
Javad Javadov’s bank account)
32546/18
11/06/2018
Rufat
Eldar oglu
SAFAROV
1981
Yalchin
IMANOV
Sumgayit
07/07/2025
25/02/2025
7,500
850
(to be paid directly to the representative Mr
Yalchin Imanov’s bank account)
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.