23:59, 9 August 2022

Azerbaijani oppositionist Ali Aliev complains about bias of court

Ali Aliev. Photo by the press service of the “Citizens and Development” Party https://news.day.az/society/1426449.html

Ali Aliev, the leader of the “Citizens and Development” Party, has complained that judges are biased when considering his appeal against the verdict in the case on defamation. Ali Aliev refused to participate in court hearings. Colleagues of Ali Aliev called his case a political order.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on January 13, a court sentenced Ali Aliev to five months of imprisonment, finding him guilty of defaming border guard Emil Djafarov. On May 27, Ramiz Geyushev, a former functionary of the ruling “New Azerbaijan” Party, filed a lawsuit against Ali Aliev, accusing him of an insult. On June 7, Ali Aliev declared a hunger strike to protest against the third charge. The oppositionist believes that the charges are deliberately initiated in a row to prolong his imprisonment, in order to punish him for criticizing the authorities. On June 23, the court toughened Ali Aliev’s sentence in three cases to one year of imprisonment.

The basis for the complaint against Ali Aliev was an interview that the oppositionist gave to the “Bumerang Media” YouTube channel in September 2021 after a pornographic video with Ramiz Geyushev had appeared on social media. Ali Aliev said that Ramiz Geyushev actively participated in the campaign launched against him by the authorities. The ruling party condemned Ramiz Geyushev’s act and expelled him from their ranks.

Rufat Safarov, the head of the “Line of Defence” NGO, believes that Ali Aliev is being persecuted for political reasons for criticizing the authorities.

“The statements voiced by Ali Aliev did not contain any expressions that discredit honour. He expressed value judgments,” lawyer Djavad Djavadov noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 9, 2022 at 02:08 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: СK correspondent