Baku court refuses applying CER to Asif Yusifli

A Baku court has rejected the petition of Asif Yusifli, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), for release him under conditional early relief (CER). His defence intends to appeal against the refusal.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 30, 2015, Asif Yusifli was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on charges of fraud and forgery of documents. In May 2016, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan reduced his sentence to 6 years, and then the defence achieved a re-qualification of the charges into a less serious article, but the imprisonment term was upheld.

Now, Yusifli had asked the court to release him under CER, because he has served half of his term, Gezyal Bairamly, a PFPA Deputy Chair, has explained, adding that the court argued Yusifli had failed to pay the expertise costs in the amount of 50 manats (about USD 30), did not enter the path of correction and had not repented."

Ms Bairamly said that the court has also disregarded Yusifli's disability and his injuries received during the warfare, and also "the fact that he has two young children; one of them is sick."

"This is an indicator of the regime's cruel treatment of its adamant opponents," Ms Bairamly has concluded.

Azerbaijani rights defenders have declared Asif Yusifli to be a political prisoner; and his advocate, Bakhruz Bairamov, considers the court's decision as unjustified.