Azerbaijan’s highest court on Thursday upheld a 22 April decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), ordering the immediate release of Eynulla Fatullayev, an Azeri journalist who was sentenced in 2007 to eight-and-a-half years in prison for defamation and “fomenting terrorism” through his articles.

As IPI reported at the time, the Court voted six to one that Azerbaijan had violated Fatullayev’s rights, and had “grossly” and “disproportionately” restricted freedom of expression by imprisoning him. According to a statement on the Court’s website, the judgment recalled that “freedom of information applied not only to information or ideas that were favourably received, but also to those that offended, shocked or disturbed.”

The Court also ordered Azerbaijan to pay the journalist 27,822 Euros in damages and expenses.

While yesterday’s decision overturns Fatullayev’s conviction on terrorism and defamation-related charges, the journalist will remain in prison. He was sentenced in July 2010 to an additional 30 months in prison for illegal possession of narcotics after a search of his prison cell in December allegedly yielded 0.223 grams of heroin. His lawyer, and some civil society groups, have maintained that the charge was fabricated and that the drugs were planted on the journalist in advance of the ECHR decision.

“While we welcome Azerbaijan’s decision to uphold the letter of the ECHR’s ruling, we call on the authorities to abide by the spirit of the ruling and to allow independent journalists to function without harassment in Azerbaijan. We also call for the release of all journalists currently imprisoned in the country for their critical writing,” said Alison Bethel McKenzie, IPI Acting Director.

Fatullayev, founder and editor-in-chief of the newspapers Gündəlik Azərbaycan and Realny Azerbaijan, was imprisoned in 2007 on charges of criminal defamation relating to an article he had written in 2005. Later the same year, the Azeri government argued that another article he had written in March 2007 constituted a threat of terrorism. Fatullayev was found guilty on both counts, and sentenced to a total of eight-and-a-half years in prison.

Incidents of judicial harassment against Fatullayev date as far back as 2000, during his time as an editor at the Milletin Sesi and Monitor publications. By 2001, Fatullayev was already facing several lawsuits related to articles he had written, and in both 2002 and 2003 he was found guilty of criminal defamation and fined for articles he had written criticising the government.

According to research conducted by the IPI National Committee in Azerbaijan, nine journalists were brought to court on criminal charges in the first two months of 2010 alone. Another 13 were harassed or physically intimidated. Azerbaijan is among the top jailers of journalists in the world.