issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 023 (2026)
27.01.2026
Judgments of 27 January 2026
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing four judgments1:
one Chamber judgment is summarised below;
three Committee judgments, concerning issues which have already been examined by the Court, can
be consulted on Hudoc and do not appear in this press release.
The judgment below is available only in English.
Khadija Ismayilova v. Azerbaijan (no. 4) (applications nos. 71556/16 and
74112/17)
The applicant, Khadija Rovshan gizi Ismayilova, is an Azerbaijani national who was born in 1976 and
lives in Baku.
The case concerns criminal proceedings brought against the applicant, a well-known journalist and
activist. She had a number of charges brought against her in 2014-15; she was ultimately convicted of
tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurship, specifically for carrying out journalistic activities for foreign
media without accreditation. The criminal case against the applicant was the subject of another
European Court judgment Khadija Ismayilova v. Azerbaijan (no. 2) in 2020.
Relying on Article 7 (no punishment without law) of the European Convention on Human Rights, she
argues in this case that accreditation was not a legal requirement for journalists, including for those
working with foreign media, under the national law at the time and that she could not therefore have
known that her freelance work would result in a criminal sanction. She also alleges that her trial and
conviction were a sham and that the charges had been fabricated to punish her for and prevent her
from investigative reporting, in breach of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial), Article 10 (freedom of
expression) and Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) of the European Convention.
Violation of Article 7
Violation of Article 6 § 1
Violation of Article 10
Violation of Article 18 taken in conjunction with Article 10
Just satisfaction:
non-pecuniary damage: 12,000 euros (EUR)
costs and expenses: EUR 4,000
This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,
judgments and further information about the Court can be found on www.echr.coe.int.
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Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a Chamber
judgment’s delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel
of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a
final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the Convention,
judgments delivered by a Committee are final.
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.
Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution
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