Published on 27 October 2025
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 1717/20
Elshad MIRIYEV
against Azerbaijan
lodged on 20 December 2019
communicated on 9 October 2025
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applicant is a religious scholar and the author of a book titled Not in Islam. In 2018 the publication and distribution of the book were prohibited in Azerbaijan, based on an opinion issued by the State Committee on the Affairs with Religious Associations, which stated that the book would have a “negative impact on the religious situation in the country”. The applicant challenged this decision in court. By a final decision of 25 June 2019, the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts’ judgments dismissing the applicant’s claim.
Relying on Article 10 of the Convention, the applicant complains that the prohibition of the publication and distribution of his book violated his right to freedom of expression.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
Has there been an interference with the applicant’s freedom of expression, in particular his right to impart information and ideas, within the meaning of Article 10 § 1 of the Convention? If so, was that interference prescribed by law and necessary in pursuit of a legitimate aim, in terms of Article 10 § 2?