At trial in Baku, prosecutor demands 7.5 years in prison for oppositionist Faradj Kerimli

Today, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes chaired by Judge Shakyar Mamedova has listened to the final speech of the public prosecutor in the case against Faradj Kerimli, an activist of the "Musavat" Party, accused of drug trafficking in Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Faradj Kerimli was detained on July 23, 2014, in Baku. According to investigators, narcotic drugs were found on him, and he was engaged in propaganda of psychotropic substances in social networks. A week earlier, his brother Siradj was detained, allegedly, also for possessing drugs. Both brothers state their innocence.

"Despite the obvious falsifications in the criminal case, the public prosecutor suggested to sentence Faradj Kerimli to 7.5 years of imprisonment. The fact is that the criminal case is concocted so clumsily that falsifications are visible to the naked eye. Thus, according to the criminal case materials, it appears that even prior to detention of Faradj Kerimli, investigators brought him a public advocate. Why did they think that Faradj 'possessed drugs'? All the above suggests that the drugs had been planted by the investigators," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Nemat Kerimli, an advocate of Faradj Kerimli.

According to the advocate, the court is to listen to the final speeches of the defence and Faradj Kerimli himself on May 6.

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