Rafiyev v. Azerbaijan, No. 81028/17, ECtHR (Third Section), 8 July 2025

The arrest and subsequent administrative conviction of a follower of the Nurism teachings of Islam for participating in an unauthorised religious meeting on private premises, constitute a violation of art. 9 ECHR (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)

Art. 5, par. 1, ECHR 
Art. 6, par. 1, ECHR 
Art. 9 ECHR 

1. The power of States to impose the registration of religious denominations does not imply the right to sanction a single individual for praying or otherwise manifesting his or her religious belief in private, even if the religious organisation to which they belong is not registered.

2. The deprivation of an individual’s liberty, even if of short duration within the scope of administrative offence proceedings, violates article 5(1) of the ECHR when it is arbitrary, as it is not supported by an explicit legal justification regarding the necessity of the measure and is not adequately recorded by the authorities. Such arbitrariness is exacerbated in the context of a violation of article 6(1) of the ECHR where the decisions of the domestic courts rely solely on the authorities' accusations without fulfilling the duty to give reasons, omitting to assess and respond to the specific arguments of the defence regarding the role of the accused and the contested facts, thereby compromising the structure of a fair trial.