In Azerbaijan, four activists arrested at April 2 rally face trial

On July 28 the Nasimi District Court of Baku, chaired by Judge Shakhin Abdullaev, started the court hearings on the lawsuit against four activists who had been arrested in connection with a rally held on April 2 at the centre of the Azerbaijani capital. The court hearings on the merits are appointed for August 9.

At the preparatory session, which began on July 28 in the Nasimi District Court of Baku, the youth activists Ulvi Guliev (non-partisan), Elnur Medjidli (a member of the youth branch of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan), Rufat Gadjibeili (an activist of the "Musavat" Party) and Akhad Mamedli (vice-chairman of the youth organization of the "Musavat" Party) appeared before the court. Their rights are defended by well-known lawyers Osman Kyazimov, Yalchin Imanov, Elchin Namazov and Khalid Bagirov.

Two officers of the post-and-patrol service of the Baku police, an officer of a transport company, an employee of the transport service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and other individuals are the victims in the case. According to the indictment, during the protest rally held on April 2 the defendants caused material damage to the victims in the total amount of about 7250 US dollars.

About 150 members of the public support group came to the court to express their solidarity with the defendants. However, due to a low capacity of the courtroom, many of them were unable to follow the court hearings. The advocates demanded to hold the trial in a large courtroom taking into account the high public interest in the case.

During a break an incident occurred between the court marshals and defendants' parents. The former did not allow to hand newspapers over to the defendants. Furthermore, they formed a "live shield" in front of the cage, making the defendants invisible to their parents. This fact strained the situation even more. As a result, the young defendants were handcuffed and led out of the courtroom for the break.

The lawyers voiced their protest after the break, claiming that the court marshals had exceeded their powers; in return, the judge promised not to admit it ever again.