Court denies transfer under house arrest for PFPA activist Akhmedov

The court refused to stop the criminal prosecution and place under house arrest Niyameddin Akhmedov, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, accused of financing terrorism. The oppositionist denied the accusations and called them politically motivated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 15, 2020, Akhmedov was detained and arrested for 30 days for violating the quarantine and disobeying policemen's demands. His party colleagues state that law enforcers had tortured Akhmedov in order to force him to testify against Ali Kerimli, the PFPA leader. On May 15, Akhmedov was charged with financing terrorism. The oppositionist himself said that the case had been fabricated.

On March 3, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes started a trial on the case against Niyameddin Akhmedov. After the court hearing, advocate Zibeida Sadygova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the defence filed a motion to terminate the criminal proceedings and in case of dismissal of the motion – to transfer the defendants under house arrest.

"Our position was based on the fact that the investigators did not provide any reliable evidence of the guilt of Niyameddin Akhmedov. Everything is based on the biased interpretations of the investigators," Zibeida Sadygova said.

The advocate also reported that Niyameddin Akhmedov denied the charges in court and said that he was being prosecuted only because he was guarding PFPA leader Ali Kerimli during public events.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 4, 2021 at 09:02 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.