18:19, 20 April 2022

Elchin Guliev acquitted posthumously within "Terter case"

The Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) has stopped, on rehabilitating grounds, the treason case against the military, Elchin Guliev, who died during the inquiry. After the restart of the "Terter case", Guliev was the first to be acquitted, which gives hope for the rehabilitation of other convicts, Rasul Djafarov, head of the Baku Human Rights Club, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 1, 2021, the Azerbaijani GPO admitted torture of the figurants in the "Terter case"; and on December 18, it was announced that the criminal proceedings on their complaints of torture was resumed. On February 7, 2022, the GPO cancelled the decision to dismiss the treason case against Junior Sergeant Elchin Guliev.

In the spring of 2017, in Baku, a group of militaries and civilians was arrested on charges of collaborating with Armenian special services and plotting acts of sabotage against the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD). During the investigation, eight defendants were tortured to death: four of them have been rehabilitated posthumously.

"The good name of my son has been restored, but this is only a moral consolation. I've lost my son ... His soul will find peace when his tormentors are punished," said Valida Akhmedova, Elchin Guliev's mother.

"Criminal cases against all of them were falsified according to one scenario – under torture, people were forced to incriminate themselves and others," Mr Djafarov has stated, adding that the rehabilitated victims or their relatives can claim compensation through the court.

The Union "For Freedom of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners" has recognized 27 convicts in the "Terter case" as prosecution victims for political reasons.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 20, 2022 at 02:55 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent