Azeri SC returns case of opposition leader Umudov for reconsideration

The Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan has cancelled the decision of the appellate instance in the case of Pasha Umudov, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). The case was returned to the court for reconsideration, the activist's advocate has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Umudov was detained in October 2019. His defence treated his persecution of as unjustified. He was accused of drug storage. On August 7, 2020, a court in Baku sentenced him to 4.5 years in colony.

Umudov's advocates appealed against the verdict at the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA), but on October 27, 2020, the BCA upheld the verdict. Then, a cassation appeal was submitted to the Azerbaijani SC.

Zafar Akhmedov, a member of the NGO "Defence Line", finds the SC's decision encouraging.

"The BCA was unlikely to acquit Umudov; our political prisoners are not acquitted or are occasionally acquitted many years after their release in pursuance of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). However, the BCA can re-qualify the charge and mitigate the punishment," Mr Akhmedov has suggested.

He believes that Umudov will be released if there is a "political decision."