Court dismisses complaint of Azerbaijani oppositionist Asif Yusifli about refusal of CER

In Baku, the court dismissed the complaint about the refusal of conditional early relief (CER) for Asif Yusifli, a member of the presidium of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). The judge took into account the negative characteristics issued to the activist by the administration of the penal colony. Asif Yusifli himself declared a biased attitude towards him for political reasons.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 30, 2015, Asif Yusifli was sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment on the charge of fraud and forgery of documents. In May 2016, the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan reduced his sentence to six years.

At trial, advocate Elchin Sadygov noted that four months remained until the end of the Asif Yusifli's sentence. The advocate also reminded the court that the parents of the activist repaid the damage to the victim and she abandoned the claims.

According to Elchin Sadygov, the arguments presented by the administration of the penal colony that Asif Yusifli allegedly "did not improve his behaviour and did not repent of the crime," were "inconsistent." According to the advocate, at present, all legal means to achieve the conditional early relief for his client have been exhausted.

"The authorities demonstrate an incomprehensible biased attitude towards Asif Yusifli. He fought in defence of his homeland, he got disability, and he takes care of minor children," said Gezyal Bairamly, the deputy chair of the PFPA.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 23, 2019 at 00:02 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.