Intigam Aliev's defence disagrees with CoA's ruling

The advocates of the rights defender Intigam Aliev have disagreed with the decision of the Court of Appeal (CoA), which has upheld the verdict to the activist. They believe that Aliev's guilt was not proved; and he was convicted on the basis of the prosecution, built on investigators' assumptions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 22, the court in Baku found Intigam Aliev, the head of the non-profit organization (NPO) "Society of Legal Education", guilty of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurial activities, misappropriation or embezzlement on a large scale and sentenced him to 7.5 years of imprisonment in a common-security penal colony. On July 21, the Baku Court of Appeal upheld the verdict to Intigam Aliev.

The July 21 court session on Aliev's case caused a heightened interest. The session was held in the courtroom, which has less than 30 seats for observers; as a result, many could not get there.

Aliev was placed into a glass cage – an "aquarium". He often did not hear what was spoken out at the session; and in such cases he pounded on the glass with his hand.

"This is an 'aquarium'. They should now fill it in with water and place fishes therein. Why should a defendant be kept in an 'aquarium' at a court session? It's a flagrant violation of human rights. I can't hear anything; I can't contact my advocates and discuss my defence," said Aliev.

In the debates, the advocates treated the verdict as illegal and customized. In their opinion, the charges have not been proved. The advocates urged the court to acquit Aliev.

Aliev himself stated that he found it an insult to speak, while staying in the "aquarium". He treated his case as a "political order".

The advocate Djavadov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent in his comment on the verdict that the defence would lodge a cassation complaint to the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan.

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