19:04, 23 January 2017

Court to consider Nardaran elder's case behind closed doors

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes has held a preparatory session on the case of Natig Kerimov, an elder of the village of Nardaran. The consideration of the case on the merits in a closed session is scheduled for February 2.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 10 the trial of Kerimov's case was postponed due to self-disqualification of the Presiding Judge Eldar Ismaylov.

Kerimov was detained on January 6, 2016, and accused of spying for Iran. Oppositionists and human rights activists treated the accusations as absurd.

The spokesman of the court secretariat said that the court had decided to consider the case behind closed doors "given the consideration at the trial of the data related to state secrets."

"The legislation allows conducting trials behind closed doors, when it comes to the protection of information related to state secrets; however, in any case, a preparatory session and the announcement of the sentence should be open to the public," said Yalchin Imanov, a law expert.

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

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent