Mother of Russian officer convicted in Azerbaijan appeals to Dmitry Medvedev for help

On February 3, relatives of Russian officer Polad Kasymov, who was convicted in Azerbaijan for espionage, sent an open letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev asking to raise the issue of the serviceman's release. They believe that Russian diplomats do not intervene in the situation not to ruin the negotiations between Russia and Azerbaijan on the renewal terms of the lease of the Gabala Radar Station (RS).

Let us note that the situation with Polad Kasymov, a Russian citizen, Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian army, a native of the city of Dyatkovo of the Bryansk Region, was not widely covered by the Russian media, especially in comparison to stories of detentions of Ekaterina Zatuliveter and Anna Chapman.

Polad Kasemov is a staff member of the FSB, a former employee of the Gabala RS, who gained for Russia "secret information". This was stated in the ruling of the Military Court of the Azerbaijan Republic, received by the "Caucasian Knot".

On December 7, 2009, the verdict of the Military Court for grave crimes was announced to Polad Kasymov. He was found guilty under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic (espionage) and sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment.

Mother of convicted officer: Polad Kasymov becomes hostage to political ambitions of Russia and Azerbaijan

Attempts to ensure the release of the convicted man committed by his relatives were unsuccessful; therefore, the mother of Polad Kasymov decided to appeal to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The open letter addressed to him was published on February 3. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" by Igor Statychnyuk, the second cousin of Polad Kasymov.

He states that the officer's mother took "the extreme measures", since "the previous appeals to the President remained in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)."

"For three years already, our diplomats cannot raise the issue (about the release of Polad Kasymov, note of the "Caucasian Knot") at your repeated meetings with the Azerbaijan President. Moreover, they know very well that this is not the fact of espionage, since there is no evidence of the crime. And the precedent was created for pressure, blackmail and bargaining about the Gabala RS in the midst of anti-Gabala and anti-Russian sentiments," Raisa Kasymova writes in her letter to the Russian President.

Natalia Kasymova, the wife of the convicted Lieutenant Colonel, agrees with the position of Raisa Kasymova. According to her, the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan takes no actions to release her husband from prison.

Natalia Kasymova believes that "taking into account the entire situation of anti-Russian sentiments concerning the Gabala RS in Azerbaijan, the Embassy of the Russian Federation behaves with caution, since the issue of the renewal of the contract with Russia to lease the military base has not been solved yet."

The Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan refused to comment immediately on the case. "We have only three diplomats, and they are very busy. You should ask your questions by e-mail. They will be answered," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Evgeny Kozmin, Chief of Consular Department of the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan.

Svetlana Gannushkina: Russia does not protect its citizen accused of espionage

Let us note that Natalia Kasymova declares acceptable conditions of detention of her husband in the Azerbaijani prison, since "staff members of the prison are also human beings, and they understand that he is not a criminal, but a hostage to politics of the two states."

"I keep in touch with international organizations in Russia the Human Rights Centre "Memorial", with Svetlana Gannushkina, Chairperson of the Committee "Civil Assistance". We keep writing appeals on the website of the Russian President, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, to the MFA, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the organization for military affairs "Megapir" and carry on correspondence with Vladimir Lukin, Ombudsman in the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, all correspondence with those agencies is forwarded to the MFA and then to the Embassy of the Russian Federation," the wife of Lieutenant Colonel emphasizes.

Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the public organization for assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) "Civil Assistance" agrees that Moscow is not trying to solve the problem of the Russian citizen.

"I got the impression that Kasymov is not a spy, since they (Anna Chapman and other Russian citizens accused of espionage, note of the "Caucasian Knot") get better defence. The lawyer is also convinced in that. And if he is not a spy, then the question arises: why Russia does not protect its citizen accused of espionage?" the human right defender states.

In her letter to the Russian President, the wife of the Lieutenant Colonel recounts the story of her "husband's kidnapping" and "criminal interrogations".

She writes that her husband "had been kidnapped in Baku" and quotes the statements of eyewitnesses, taxi drivers, who reported how "On February 3, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., unidentified persons came out of two jeeps, put a bag of the Polad's head bag, tied his hands, forced him into a car and drove to some unknown destination."

According to Natalia Kasymova, her husband "was not allowed to eat and drink and threatened that if he did not sign 'the confession', they would arrest his wife, children and parents."

Natalia Kasymova emphasizes that the indictment was based on the Polad Kasymov's confessions, which he later subsequently retracted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has not yet any comments from the MFAs of Russia and Azerbaijan regarding the situation with Lieutenant Colonel Polad Kasymov.

After one more appeal of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent to the Russian Consulate Agency in Baku, Spokesperson Alina Zolotareva promised to report to her superiors about the situation with Polad Kasymov.

In his turn, the lawyer Adil Ismailov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in Azerbaijan, all judicial proceedings had been committed, and the complaint was sent to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), so he had nothing to comment.

The Centre for Public Relations of the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan stated that they "would ask" about the details of the case against the Russian citizen. At the same time, the officials have noted that in general, if the court pronounced verdict, it means that the court has given the legal assessment and confirmed the rightness of the charges.