MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

Resolutions

CM/ResDH(2025)130

12 June 2025

Interim Resolution CM/ResDH(2025)130 Execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights Makuchyan and Minasyan v. Azerbaijan (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 12 June 2025 at the 1531st meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

 

 

Application No.	Case	Judgment of	Final on
17247/13	MAKUCHYAN AND MINASYAN	26/05/2020	12/10/2020

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);

Recalling that this case concerns the measures taken by the authorities of Azerbaijan in respect of one of its military officers who had been convicted of an extremely cruel hate crime against two Armenian officers in Hungary and who, following his transfer to Azerbaijan, was pardoned, released, promoted and awarded benefits, and the Court found that these measures have in effect granted him impunity and have had a causal link to the Armenian ethnicity of his victims in violation of Articles 2 in its procedural limb and Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 2 of the Convention;

DEPLORED that although the Azerbaijani military officer was found guilty of an exceptionally cruel, premeditated murder committed exclusively because of the Armenian nationality of his victims, and despite repeated calls from the Committee and the fact that four years have passed since the Makuchyan and Minasyan final judgment, the authorities have not submitted any information demonstrating tangible progress on the individual measures required;

EXHORTED the authorities to comply, without further delay, with their unconditional obligation to pay the costs and expenses awarded to the applicants’ representatives;

URGED them to confirm, without further delay, that the letters supporting the pardon and release of the perpetrator, posted on the website of the Presidential Administration, have been removed;

URGED them to ensure, without further delay, that the perpetrator of the serious human rights breaches found in the present case does not hold any public office anymore;

DEEPLY REGRETTED that the perpetrator of this hate crime was bestowed with benefits that appear not to have had any legal basis under domestic law, and CALLED ON the authorities to clarify, without further delay, their position as regards the “other benefits” provided to him.