16:24, 15 December 2014

Azerbaijan completes preliminary investigation on rights defender Djafarov

Rasul Djafarov. Photo by Aziz Karimov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The preliminary investigation into the criminal case of Rasul Djafarov, the coordinator of the campaign "Arts for Democracy", is over in Azerbaijan. After the rights defender gets acquainted with the indictment, the case will go to the Baku Court of Grave Crimes.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Djafarov was detained on August 2 and arrested on charges under the article of "illegal entrepreneurship", "tax evasion" and "abuse of power".

According to Gyunay Ismayilova, his public defender, the evidence against Djafarov was fabricated; and a similar scenario was used at the inquiry against Anar Mamedli, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Elections and Democracy Training, and his two colleagues Bashir Suleimanly and Elnur Mamedov. Initially, they had been accused of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of office; and then they were additionally charged with large-scale embezzlement and official forgery. In May, all three of them were convicted.

"Although Djafarov was initially prosecuted under the general criminal case against 'certain local and foreign NGOs', initiated by the General Prosecutor's Office this May this year, now his case will be considered separately," said Ismayilova.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent