Mekhman Aliev: in Azerbaijan, Court fails to completely investigate case against Ilham Amiraslanov

The judicial investigation into the case against Ilham Amiraslanov, an activist of the headquarters of the civil society "Kura", was not objective, and it included violations of procedural norms. This was reported by Mekhman Aliev, a staff member of the headquarters of the civil society "Kura", Director of the "Turan" news agency.

Let us remind you that today, in Azerbaijan, the Sabirabad District Court sentenced Ilham Amiraslanov, the activist of the headquarters of the civil society "Kura", to two years of imprisonment. The Court found him guilty under Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic (possession, carrying of firearms and ammunition) and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment. Prior to the pronouncement of the verdict, public prosecutor asked the Court to sentence the defendant to 2.5 years of imprisonment.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Mekhman Aliev that the Court listened to testimonies of defence witnesses and did not considered video evidence provided by the defence.

According to Mekhman Aliev, the Court failed to carry out the complete investigation and conducted only two court sessions. Furthermore, according to him, the Court hampered journalists and civil society activists to highlight the trial.

Mekhman Aliev has also emphasized that Ilham Amiraslanov actively advocated for the rights of people, affected by the flooding in the Kura and Araz Rivers in spring and summer of 2010. According to Mekhman Aliev, Ilham Amiraslanov demonstrated his integrity and uncompromising attitude to the facts when officials embezzled the funds, allocated from the state budget for the elimination of the consequences of the flooding and the compensation to citizens.

Samir Isaev, the lawyer of Ilham Amiraslanov, also claimed unfounded conviction and said that the verdict of the Court would be challenged.

In his final speech, Ilham Amiraslanov denied the charges against him and said that the pistol and the weapon were planted to him, and the criminal case was fabricated because of his human rights activities.

Rasul Djafarov, the head of the Human Rights Club, has also condemned the conviction of Ilham Amiraslanov. "We believe that the criminal case against Ilham Amiraslanov was fabricated to punish him for his active civic attitude. This was also done to ensure that the local people would not fight for their rights, being afraid of the consequences," Rasul Djafarov stated.

According to Rasul Djafarov, after the pronouncement of the verdict of guilty, Ilham Amiraslanov joined the ranks of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, the total number of whom exceeds 60.

Earlier, on August 3, Samir Isaev, the lawyer of Ilham Amiraslanov, said that the preliminary investigation was held with gross violations of the procedural law.

Because of the end of the working day, comments from the Sabirabad District Court were unavailable. Till present, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Azerbaijan did not comment on the verdict to the activist.