Azerbaijani court refuses to appoint medical examination to Siraj Kerimli

Today, in Azerbaijan, at the trial of Siraj Kerimli, recognized by the international human rights organization Amnesty International as "prisoner of conscience", the court listened to testimonies of two defence witnesses.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Siraj Kerimli, brother of ‘Musavat’ party activist Faradj Kerimli, was detained in July 2014 in Baku. According to investigators, narcotic drugs were found on him. A week later, Faradj Kerimli was also detained. Both brothers state their innocence.

At today’s court session the advocate Nemat Kerimli, after drawing attention to the fact that both witnesses failed to confirm the presence of witnesses at Siraj Kerimli's detention, petitioned to summon them to the court again.

He also requested to appoint a medical examination of Siraj's health condition. "We saw that some bumps appeared on his head. He says that he was beaten. It is necessary to conduct an examination and define the origin of the bumps," said Nemat.

The court has rejected both motions.

In his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Nemat Kerimli said that he treated the rejection of the defence's petitions as another "proof of the political nature of the criminal case and the absence of independent judiciary in the country."

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