Lawyers call on Azeri President to release Eldar Gasanov

Eldar Gasanov, a detained former Azerbaijani ambassador to Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, needs serious treatment because his health condition threatens his life, his advocates have stated. They called on President Ilham Aliev to help provide treatment to Gasanov and change his freedom restriction measure.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Eldar Gasanov was detained on August 13, 2020, in connection with the criminal case against officials of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on abuse of authority, bribe-taking and embezzling budget money. Gasanov declared his innocence.

On April 14, four Gasanov's advocates – Djalil Mirzoev, Valekh Mekhraliev, Adem Mamedov and Djavad Djavadov – addressed their open letter to President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev. They pointed to a severe deterioration in the health of their client and the need to provide him with medical care. The letter noted that in the past two months Gasanov's health condition has deteriorated sharply; and there was a threat to his life. The petitions demanding to invite specialized doctors to him in the SIZO (pre-trial prison) are ignored by the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO), the letter says.

The advocates emphasize that Gasanov rejects the charges against him, considers them baseless and biased. They ask the president to help in providing urgent medical assistance and releasing Gasanov from custody.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 14, 2021 at 07:36 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.