In Azerbaijan, prosecutor asks the court to sentence oppositionist Savalan to three years in prison

At the Sumgait City Court of Azerbaijan, at the trial of Jabbar Savalan, a youth activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), accused of illegal drug possession, the prosecutor Movlud Osmanov asked the court to appoint the maximum penalty under this article - three years of imprisonment - to the defendant.

Jabbar Savalan was detained on February 5. According to the police, 0.17 grams of opium was found on him. On February 7, the Sumgait City Court of Azerbaijan decided to arrest him for two months. The Sumgait Court of Appeal refused to release Savalan despite the arguments of the defence that accusations of drug possession were unjustified, while his detention was accompanied by policemen's violation of procedural rules.

At the beginning of the session the judge was given a written appeal from well-known politicians and human rights defenders Isa Gambar, Ali Kerimli, Novella Djafaroglu, Intigam Aliev, Saida Godjamanly, Saadat Bananyarly and others asking to release Savalan on bail until sentencing. However, Judge Ilgar Mamedov dismissed the appeal.

Like at the previous court sessions, the trial was attended by a big Savalan's support group comprising young activists, politicians and human rights defenders. Not all of them managed to get into the courtroom because of the limited number of seats. This time the young people did not chant slogans and held no placards.

However, the police took special security measures, because of arrival of Ali Kerimli, the leader of the PFPA, who was freely allowed into the courtroom. "Of course, there is no hope for fair justice; however, we've come to express our support to Savalan and demonstrate that he had been arrested on trumped-up charges. The true motives of his criminal prosecution are in his fight for freedom; they want to 'teach a lesson' and warn other young people," said Kerimli.

Lawyer Gasymov, who is defending Savalan, has treated the speech of the prosecutor, who insisted on maximum penalty and ignored plenty of extenuating circumstances, as another evidence of the "customized" character of the case.

The state prosecutor himself again refused from comments. The trial will continue on May 4 and listen to representatives of the defence.