Human rights defenders consider situation in Kullar as basis for claim to ECtHR

The authorities of Azerbaijan have no right to delay the return of their citizens from Russia and force them to live in a tent camp in Kullar, and this is the basis for a claim to be filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), human rights defenders note. According to the citizens of Azerbaijan returning home, the living conditions in the Azerbaijani quarantine zone are better than those on the Russian side.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that residents of a temporary accommodation centre (TAC) arranged near the village of Kullar are sent home in groups every week. By August 10, the number of people staying at the tent camp had grown up to 700.

Sharaf Mamedov, a former resident of the Kullar camp, praised the living conditions in the quarantine zone. "Here, of course, the conditions are better than those in Kullar. We were accommodated in tents, five persons in each tent. We even get fruits for lunch and are provided with good leisure opportunities," the man said.

"Unfortunately, the actions of the Azerbaijan's authorities are half-hearted. They let only 250 people a week from Russia across the border with Dagestan. But at the end of the new week, the Kullar camp accumulates 500-600 people again. There will always be lines at the Kullar camp with such a tempo of returning people home," said Avtandil Mamedli, the director of the Institute for the Protection of Rights and Freedoms, created in Georgia by Azerbaijani political migrants.

According to Avtandil Mamedli, the solution of the problem is being hindered by the officials' indifference. The human rights defender called the delay in the return of Azerbaijani citizens to their homeland "a violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms."

Bashir Suleimanly, the head of the NGO "Human Rights Institute", also treats the creation of obstacles for the returning home of Azerbaijani citizens from Russia through Dagestan as illegal.