Baku Court refuses to move journalist Gashimli, who complained of torture, away from MNS SIZO

Today, the Sabail District Court of Baku has considered a complaint of the journalist and human rights defender Parviz Gashimli about the conditions of his custody at the SIZO (pre-trial prison) of the Ministry of National Security (MNS) and his request to move him into the SIZO of the country's Penitentiary Service. The court has denied Gashimli's motion.

The journalist's complaint was motivated by the fact that the MNS, being the body conducting the investigation, is a biased party; and keeping the defendant in the SIZO of the ministry is used to put pressure on him.

Parviz Gashimli was brought to the court session in handcuffs. On the way from the van to the courthouse, he managed to shout out: "I'm tortured!" However, he could not continue, as the convoy quickly pushed him into the courthouse.

Then, they took away from him his notes prepared for speaking at the trial. In protest against it, Parviz Gashimli turned his back on the judge; soon he was taken into another room.

In protest, his advocate Elchin Sadygov has also left the courtroom. Later, he was notified that the court had dismissed the complaint of the journalist.

"The court has ruled in the absence of the defendant and his advocate – this is a flagrant violation of the law. My client says: 'I'm tortured,' and the court wouldn't even listen to him. This is another proof of the political nature of this case. Of course, the ruling will be appealed against at the Court of Appeal," the lawyer Sadygov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.