Bakhruz Samedov protested the consideration of his appeal in a closed session

Bahruz Samedov, a postgraduate student at Charles University in the Czech Republic, who was convicted of treason in Azerbaijan, protested against the closed hearing of his appeal.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", 29-year-old Bahruz Samedov was sentenced by a Baku court to 15 years in prison.

On August 6, the preliminary hearing on Samedov's complaint began in the Baku Court of Appeal. However, as the grandmother of researcher Zibeyda Osmanova reported, those who came to observe the trial, including employees of the US and French embassies, were removed from the courtroom. According to her, the presiding judge Elmar Rahimov announced at the beginning of the hearing that the entire process of considering the appeal, from the preliminary hearing to the announcement of the decision, would be closed.

"Despite the fact that I am the only member of Bakhruz's family, I was also not allowed to attend the trial," the grandmother of the researcher told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot". Samedov himself protested the judge's decision, she added.

In turn, Samedov's lawyer Zibeyda Sadygova reported that the consideration of the complaint on the merits could be closed given the investigation of the cases by the special services. However, the preliminary hearing and the final announcement of the decision should be open, she explained to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

At the request of the prosecutor, who said that he had not had time to familiarize himself with the case materials, the preliminary hearing was postponed until August 13.

Recall that on June 21, Samedov attempted suicide in the pretrial detention center in protest against the term announced by the prosecutor in the case of treason. At that time, the prosecution requested 16 years of imprisonment for him.

"Bahruz, being a political scientist, was engaged in research, including related to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and studied the opinions of different parties. Bahruz is currently studying for a doctorate at the Czech University of Charles. He came for the holidays and was supposed to go back to study," - Samedov's grandmother told earlier.