Azerbaijan's Supreme Court upholds Ali Karimli's conviction

The court upheld the guilty verdict of the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan Ali Karimli in the slander case. The verdict will be appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, Karimli's associates promised.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on December 2, 2024, Ali Karimli was sentenced to a fine in the slander case, although the private prosecutor demanded six months in prison for him. The Baku Court of Appeal upheld the guilty verdict.

On July 23, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan, chaired by Judge Nazim Movsumov, heard Karimli’s cassation appeal, his lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

“We pointed out the groundlessness of the verdict against Ali Karimli and the decision of the appellate court that upheld it. This case should not have been accepted for proceedings or investigated by the court at all. Karimli’s statements were evaluative, they contained neither insult nor slander. The guilty verdict against Karimli violates Articles 6 (right to a fair trial), 10 (freedom of expression) and 18 (Limits on the use of restrictions on rights) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms. However, the Supreme Court also upheld the verdict," Mekhtiyev said.

The PFPA said that a complaint against the Supreme Court's decision would be filed with the ECHR. "The possibilities of appeal in local courts have been exhausted. The next step is a complaint to the ECHR. It is clear that this was not a legal but a political process aimed at punishing Ali Karimli for his consistent political struggle against the regime,” the PFPA press service told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

A Supreme Court employee confirmed the information about the decision in the Karimli case. Plaintiff Aliyev was not available for comment.