A preparatory hearing in the case of former leaders of the Karabakh separatists began the day before at the Baku Court Complex. The case is being heard by a panel of judges chaired by Zeynal Agayev, the judge of the Baku Military Court.The accused were provided with lawyers and Armenian language interpreters, AZERTAC reported. Six prosecutors participated in the court session as state representatives.
Rufat Mammadov, Head of the Apparatus of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, represents the Azerbaijani state as the injured party in the trial. Over 531,000 victims and their representatives are involved in the criminal case.
After the accused were informed of their rights and obligations, the court declared a break.
When the session resumed, one of the former leaders of the separatist regime, who had led it from 2020 to 2023, asked to speak.
He apologized for his statement regarding the rocket attack on Ganja during the 44-day war in 2020.
“The Azerbaijani people believe that this order came from me. I did not give such an order. Yes, I made a statement about what happened. Today, I regret it and apologize. I had no such right or authority, and I couldn’t even speak out. In my testimony during the investigation, I explained why I made that statement at the time.” The preparatory hearing will continue on January 21.
On January 17, a preparatory hearing also began at the Baku Court Complex in the case of Ruben Vardanyan, the former so-called "minister" of the separatist regime, who is accused of the same crimes as other separatists.
Vardanyan and his attorney, who provides legal assistance on a contractual basis, filed two motions.
One of the motions concerned the consolidation of Vardanyan's criminal case with the cases against 15 other separatists.
The other motion requested additional time for the accused to review the criminal case materials.
The prosecutor from the prosecution side objected to the motion to merge the criminal cases. However, the prosecutor supported the second motion.
Since the Criminal Procedural Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan does not provide for the merging of criminal cases during the judicial process, the court rejected the motion. The second motion was granted, and the court allowed Vardanyan an additional 10 days to familiarize himself with the case materials. The preparatory hearing will continue on January 27.
Politics
-
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan
-
Mark Libby has concluded his diplomatic mission as the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, according to a statement posted on the U.S. Embassy's account on the social media platform X.
-
The gas pipeline from Russia to Iran will pass through Azerbaijan, its route has been agreed upon. Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev told reporters, TASS reports.
-
Journalist Farid Ismayilov, who had been under police supervision in connection with the Toplum TV case, was detained on January 17 and brought to the Khatai District Court, his colleagues reported.
Leave a review