PFPA treats Gakhramanly's refusal from hired advocate as suspicious

Fuad Gakhramanly, a member of the Presidium of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), said that he refused to plead guilty in the case of activists' clashes with the police, but decided not to appeal against his arrest and refused from the services of the advocate hired by his party colleagues. Gakhramanly made such decisions under pressure, the PFPA has suggested.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that earlier Rufat Safarov, the executive director of the human rights organization "Defence Line" had spread information about the torture of the arrested activist Fuad Gakhramanly. He also said that an advocate was not allowed to visit Gakhramanly; and his family members and rights defenders could not contact him.

Bakhruz Bairamov, the advocate invited for defending Gakhramanly by his party colleagues was able to see his client on August 6 at the SIZO (pre-trial prison).

"The confidential part of our conversation with Fuad Gakhramanly lasted only 1.5 minutes. He thanked me for my readiness to defend him, but at the same time noted that at this stage he decided to cooperate with the lawyer by appointment," Bairamov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Bakhruz Bairamov has noted that he had no opportunity to find out how Gakhramanly was treated at the SIZO and about his state of health.

The PFPA believes that Gakhramanly's refusal from the advocate has to do with "serious pressure on him."

"Fuad is a strong man. This is not his first detention; and if he has refused from the advocate's services, then something serious is happening to him, and there is strong pressure on him," Gezyal Bairamly, the PFPA deputy chair, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 7, 2020 at 10:48 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.