A witness in the Azer Gasimli case was pressured in court.

In Azerbaijan, during the trial of political scientist Azer Gasimli, the prosecutor pressured a witness, demanding that he reveal his testimony during the investigation. The defense protested the prosecutor's actions. Witnesses are confused in their testimony and contradict their own words, Gasimli's wife said.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, a Baku court has been considering the case of political scientist Azer Gasimli since July. He faces up to 10 years in prison on charges of extortion and threats. At the beginning of the trial, the court rejected most of the defense's motions, agreeing to question only two defense witnesses. Gasimli denied all charges, stating that he is, in fact, the victim. On September 10, Gurbanali Yusifov, who accused political scientist Azer Gasimli of extortion, failed to explain in court his claims in his own statements that Gasimli allegedly incited him "against statehood."

Azer Gasimli's trial at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes heard witness testimony, the defendant's wife, Samira Gasimli, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

According to her, the victim's father, Gurbanali Yusifov, Vidadi Yusifov, spoke to the court first.

"The witness spoke based on assumptions. When presiding judge Telman Huseynov repeatedly tried to clarify whether he had seen or heard Azer threaten his son, Vidadi Yusifov replied that he 'feared their house would be set on fire.' And this despite the fact that the prosecution claims that Azer allegedly threatened Gurbanali Yusifov with 'kidnapping his son' and 'killing his father' (Vidadi Yusifov). Gurbanali Yusifov's father did not confirm these words in court. Vidadi Yusifov said that he had only heard about the threats to the 'victim' from his son himself," she said. Gasimli.

According to her, "other contradictions" were found in V. Yusifov's speech.

When Azer asked the witness when he learned of the "threats" to his son, Vidadi Yusifov replied that it was during the trial of my husband in the Mingachevir City Court in connection with his debt, that is, in April 2024. Azer recalled that Vidadi Yusifov said during the preliminary investigation that the threats allegedly came in 2022, and "for safety reasons" allegedly took his grandson and daughter-in-law from Baku to another city. Moreover, even the judge told Vidadi Yusifov that he did not say during the preliminary investigation that Azer personally threatened to kill him. However, Vidadi Yusifov, Apparently, he didn't understand the judge and said, "Yes, maybe I said that," which caused laughter in the courtroom," Gasimli noted.

Next, according to her, the victim's cousin, Ramazan Yusifzade, was heard as a witness at the trial.

"He said that in March 2023, he went to Turkey, Antalya, for work and stayed there in the same apartment with Gurbanali Yusifov. According to the witness, he witnessed Gurbanali receive a phone call one day, and after the conversation, his mood soured. The witness noted that he did not question his cousin about the content of the conversation. However, at that moment, the prosecutor began asking the witness leading questions in order to obtain confirmation of the prosecution's version of events. Azer's lawyer, Rovshan Rahimli, protested, and the state prosecutor's questions were so "The judge accepted the defense's objections. However, after this, the prosecutor openly threatened the witness that if he did not repeat the testimony he had given during the preliminary investigation, he would be prosecuted. The lawyer protested again. The witness hesitated and only after such pressure did he say that his cousin, after a telephone conversation, had informed him of threats from Azer," Gasimli continued.

The accused also asked the witness why he had said during the preliminary investigation that he had witnessed the telephone conversation in Istanbul, but in court he had named Antalya. Yusifzade responded by saying that the conversation took place in Antalya, and that Istanbul was indicated "due to a technical error."

"Azer also recalled that the victim himself said that he received a call from my husband when Gurbanali was in Baku. The witnesses' testimony once again confirmed the fabricated nature of this case and the political motives behind my husband's arrest," Gasimli noted.

Rovshan Rahimli's lawyer confirmed that the prosecution exerted pressure on witness Yusifzade during the trial.

"A witness has the right to recant testimony given to the investigation, and this does not entail any liability," the lawyer told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The defense believes that the prosecution's case in court is completely falling apart due to the lack of reliable evidence of Gasimli's guilt and the confusing and contradictory testimony of witnesses.

An employee of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes confirmed that witnesses were heard at Gasimli's trial.

The next hearing is scheduled for November 12, the court representative added.

Victim Gurbanali Yusifov and witnesses Vidadi Yusifov and Ramazan Yusifzade were unavailable for comment.