Azerbaijani Prosecutor’s Office refuses to investigate beating of oppositionist Tofig Yagublu

The Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan refused to launch an investigation into a criminal case in connection with a complaint filed by opposition politician Tofig Yagublu who claimed he had been beaten by law enforcers. The defence called the arguments of the Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan about the absence of corpus delicti as groundless.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 2, a complaint about the beating of Tofig Yagublu was sent to the General Prosecutor’s Office. The assistant prosecutor of the Sabail District recorded the testimony of the activist, but not as a victim, but as a witness.

On December 1, the police disrupted a protest action in support of Salekh Rustamov, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), who was on a hunger strike in prison and demanded to release him. Tofig Yagublu was among the detained protestors. He claims that law enforcers severely beat him while he was in custody.

The Prosecutor’s Office refused to institute a criminal case on absurd grounds, noted advocate Nemat Kerimli.

‘The incident of the crime is obvious: Tofig Yagublu was detained by the police at the protest action, which was evidenced by numerous videos filmed by journalists, and several hours later we saw him with injuries on his face,” advocate Nemat Kerimli explained.