13:56, 5 November 2025

The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan found the number of arguments for Bakhtiyar Hajiyev's innocence too great.

The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan has postponed its decision on the appeal against activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev's sentence, as it requires additional time to consider the defense's arguments.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on December 28, 2024, the state prosecutor demanded that Bakhtiyar Hajiyev be found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison. On January 13, the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, head of the Institute of Public Policy, who is known for his criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities, was charged under eight articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code. Specifically, he is accused of illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering or other property obtained through criminal means, smuggling, tax evasion, hooliganism, contempt of court, and document forgery. Hajiyev denied all charges.

Today, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan heard a cassation appeal against Hajiyev's sentence, his lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, told the Caucasian Knot correspondent. According to him, the defense asked the court to acquit Gadzhiev of all charges and release the activist. The defense attorney noted that Gadzhiev was initially arrested on charges of hooliganism and contempt of court. "These charges were trumped up, and the prosecution's case fell apart during the trial," the lawyer said.

"Even if the charges had been substantiated, Hajiyev served three years in prison, which is longer than he should have under the aforementioned articles. Many months after his arrest, he was charged with economic crimes. These charges were based on an anonymous email sent to the police, alleging that Bakhiyar Hajiyev was receiving grants from Western organizations and planning a coup in Azerbaijan. However, according to Azerbaijani law, information from an anonymous source cannot be the subject of an investigation. Therefore, evidence obtained illegally cannot be used to indict or prosecute anyone. This fact alone allows him to be acquitted. However, we have presented extensive evidence proving Hajiyev's innocence on the merits of the charges," Sadigov said.

Earlier Gadzhiev himself called the hooliganism charge fabricated based on a complaint by the victim, Ulviya Alovlu, who, he believes, was "following orders from her handlers in power." The same applied to the charge of "contempt of court," because he never committed it. Gadzhiev called all other economic charges illegal.

According to him, the Supreme Court bench postponed the announcement of the decision. "The judges justified this by saying they needed additional time to consider the defense's numerous arguments. We hope this is not a tactical ploy and that the court will truly delve into the defense's arguments and make an objective and fair decision, finally releasing Gadzhiev," the lawyer said.

According to him, Gadzhiev took part in the trial and spoke in his own defense. "Bakhtiyar is being held in Correctional Facility No. 6. "He has no complaints about the conditions of detention," the lawyer said.

A Supreme Court official confirmed the hearing's postponement.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416965