Baku court refuses to summon doctors who treated Rasim Aliev

The court that considers the murder case of Rasim Aliev has refused to summon the Minister of Public Health of Azerbaijan; however, it partially granted the petition to summon forensic experts, said Asabali Mustafaev, an advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 22, 2015, the Aliev's murder case was sent to the court. The hearing on the merits began on January 12. Elshan Ismailov, Jamal Mamedov and Arif Aliev, "have pled partially guilty." In their turn, Samir Mustafaev and Ilham Madatov refused to plead guilty.

According to Mustafaev's advocate, his colleague Guliev, who is defending Mamedov, has also requested to summon all the forensic experts, who gave conclusions on the case.

The defence of the suffered party is dissatisfied with the course of the inquiry, said Mustafaev. Kenan Madatova, the mother of Ilham Madatov, also expressed her dissatisfaction with the course of the trial. She noted that "the court refused to summon the Minister of Public Health, whose testimony could clarify the cause of Rasim Aliev's death."

Rasim Aliev was a member of the Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS). His colleagues do not exclude that Aliev was beaten up out of revenge for his journalistic activities.

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