Hearings of witnesses testimony in the Baku Court for Serious Crimes at the trial of the activist of the Party of People’s Front of Azerbaijan (PPFA) Niyameddin Akhmedov who is the bodyguard on a voluntary basis of the leader of this opposition organization Ali Kerimli, are over.

*On April 16, 2020, the Khatai District Court of Baku arrested Niyameddin Akhmedov for violating quarantine for a term of 30 days. On April 28, he was taken out of the pre-trial detention center and subjected to severe tortures demanding from him to testify against Ali Kerimli.

After the expiration of the administrative arrest, on May 16, Akhmedov was charged under Article 214-1 (financing of terrorism) of the Criminal Code and arrested again. Human rights activists found Akhmedov as a political prisoner.

On January 18, 2021, he was charged under Article 233-1. 1. 2 (illegal manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation, carrying and transfer or sale to another person of items whose inclusion in civil circulation is not allowed by law (excluded from civil circulation) and 28,281. 2 ( preparation for public appeals directed against the state, repeatedly made by a group of persons) of the Criminal Code. Human rights organizations found Akhmedov as a political prisoner.

At the meeting on July 9, the defense made a number of petitions, lawyer Zibeyda Sadygova told journalists.

“Our first request was due to the fact that the court was going to interrogate Gabil Mammadov and his wife living in Germany via Skype,” the lawyer said.

The Mammadovs ‘ interrogation is necessary, since the investigation claimed that they sent money to Akhmedov for terror purposes.

Another request was related to the need to request documents and video recordings from the institution for detention of persons arrested administratively.

During the administrative arrest, Akhmedov’s rights were seriously violated, he was illegally taken to another department, subjected to interrogation and tortures, as he told the court.

“Therefore, I asked the court to send a request so that the documents and videos were sent and we could prove the illegality of the actions against Akhmedov,” Sadygova said.

Another request was related to the need to explain the accusation to Akhmedov.

“Niyameddin Akhmedov has repeatedly stated during the investigation and at the trial that the accusation was unclear for him. He does not understand what he is accused of. Niyameddin Akhmedov does not admit his guilt, so the petition came from the fact that he violated the law,” Sadygova noted.

The petitions put forward in writing were accepted by the court. However, the decision on their satisfaction will be made at the next court session on July 16.

The lawyer also drew attention to the fact that Akhmedov has not still been given the opportunity to have telephone conversations with family members after his detention.

“For almost a year of detention, Akhmedov had meetings with his family three times only. Telephone conversations have not yet been provided. I went to court three times. However, the court refused to consider the complaint on its merits, and the appellate instance upheld this decision, ” Sadygova said.

Akhmedov’s complaints of tortures have not been investigated.

According to the observations of human rights activists who monitor the process in the Akhmedov case, no reliable evidence of his guilt for sane crimes has so far been presented during the judicial investigation.

Witnesses confirmed that they transferred the money to Akhmedov from Mammadov to pay off the debt. Some testified that Mammadov sent money to pay debts to other persons.

The investigation claims that glasses with a built-in video camera were found in Akhmedov’s apartment, which are included in the list of items whose circulation is prohibited.

In fact, according to the defense, such glasses are available for open sale on the Internet. The lawyer presented the documents to the court about this and they were attached to the case.

The next court session will be held on July 16. The court will start examining the documents.

Source: Turan News Agency