Communicated on 17 May 2017
FIFTH SECTION
Application no. 13274/08
Rafig TAGIYEV and Samir HUSEYNOV
against Azerbaijan
lodged on 7 March 2008
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicants, Mr Rafig Tagiyev (the first applicant) and Mr Samir Huseynov (the second applicant), are Azerbaijani nationals, who were born in 1950 and 1975, respectively. They are represented before the Court by Mr I. Asurov, a lawyer practising in Azerbaijan.
By a letter of 14 December 2011, the applicants’ representative informed the Court of the first applicant’s death on 23 November 2011 and his wife’s wish to pursue his application.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
The first applicant was a well-known writer and columnist who collaborated with various newspapers and journals. The second applicant was the editor-in-chief of the Sanat Gazeti newspaper.
On 1 November 2006 an article entitled “We and Europe” (“Biz və Avropa”) and signed by the first applicant was published in the Sanat Gazeti newspaper. In the article the first applicant criticised Islam as a religion in comparison with Christianity, calling Islamic moral and humanism false.
On 11 November 2006 criminal proceedings were instituted against the applicants for publication of the above-mentioned article.
On 15 November 2006 the Nasimi District Court ordered the applicants’ detention pending trial.
On 4 May 2007 the Sabayil District Court found the first applicant guilty under Article 283.1 of the Criminal Code (incitement to ethnic, racial, social or religious hatred and hostility, committed publicly or by use of the mass media) and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment. The court also found the second applicant guilty under Article 283.2.2 of the Criminal Code (incitement to ethnic, racial, social or religious hatred and hostility, committed by a person using his official position) and sentenced him to four years’ imprisonment. The court’s judgment was based on a linguistic-Islamic studies (linqvistik-islamşünaslıq) expert report which concluded that certain passages of the impugned article contained elements leading to incitement to religious hatred and hostility.
On 6 July 2007 the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of 4 May 2007.
On 22 January 2008 the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s judgment of 6 July 2007.
In the meantime, on 28 December 2007 the applicants were dispensed from serving the remainder of their sentence by a presidential pardon decree and were released from prison.
COMPLAINT
The applicants complain under Articles 7, 9 and 10 of the Convention about their criminal conviction for publication of the impugned article.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has there been an interference with the applicants’ freedom of expression within the meaning of Article 10 § 1 of the Convention? If so, was that interference prescribed by law and necessary in terms of Article 10 § 2?
2. Did the act of which the applicants were convicted constitute a criminal offence under national law at the time when it was committed, as envisaged by Article 7 of the Convention?
3. The Government are requested to submit copies of all documents relating to the domestic proceedings, including a copy of the linguistic‑Islamic studies (linqvistik-islamşünaslıq) expert report. The parties are requested to provide the Court with a translation into one of the official languages of the Court of the article entitled “We and Europe” (“Biz və Avropa”) published on 1 November 2006 in the Sanat Gazeti newspaper.
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