13:46, 12 June 2015

In Baku, court hearing on Rasul Jafarov's appeal postponed indefinitely

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

The preliminary court hearing on the appeal filed by human rights defender Rasul Jafarov could be postponed because of the first European Games held in Baku. This was stated Fariz Namazly, an advocate of Rasul Jafarov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Rasul Jafarov, the coordinator of the campaign "Art for Democracy", was detained on August 2, 2014. On April 16, the court found the human rights defender guilty of illegal entrepreneurial activities, tax evasion, abuse of power, fraud, and embezzlement on a large scale and sentenced him to 6.5 years of imprisonment in a common-security penal colony.

According to advocate Fariz Namazly, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has scheduled the preliminary court hearing for June 12.

"On June 10, we got a notice that the court hearing was postponed for indefinite period. The reason for postponement is the return of the appeal to the court of first instance in connection with the need to present to Rasul Jafarov the protocols of the court hearings held at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes," the advocate has said. He treats the judge's decision as unreasonable. According to the advocate, "the court hearing is being postponed because of the first European Games."

"The Rasul Jafarov's case gave rise to the great international resonance. At present, a large number of foreign journalists are on visit in Baku to highlight the European Games, and they may attend trials. Perhaps, in order to avoid that, the trial is postponed until the end of the European Games under the pretext to present the protocols to Rasul," the advocate has noted.

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

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent