The court refused to transfer Bakhruz Samedov to house arrest

Today, the Sabail District Court considered a motion to transfer young researcher Bakhruz Samedov, who is accused of "high treason," to house arrest.

As lawyer Zibeyda Sadygova told Turan, a new motion to transfer Samedov to house arrest was filed after the extension of his arrest.

"We are not against continuing the investigation, because Samedov does not consider himself guilty and intends to prove this during the investigation," the lawyer said.

However, the defense is in favor of transferring Samedov to house arrest for the duration of the investigation.

"We asked the court to take into account the health of his 82-year-old grandmother. The elderly woman has no one but Bakhruz. After the arrest of the young man, the woman's health deteriorated sharply and an ambulance comes to her 2-3 times a day. Therefore, we asked the court to release Samedov during the investigation so that he could look after his elderly sick grandmother. At the same time, he can appear for the investigation at any time,” continued Sadigova’s lawyer.

However, the court dismissed the petition.

The defense intends to appeal.

* Samedov was detained on August 21 on charges of treason, and two days later the court arrested him for 4 months.

The EU and a number of international NGOs have condemned the persecution of Samedov, who is known for his pacifist views. He is also known for publishing critical articles and comments about the Azerbaijani authorities in Western media and analytical publications. He is the author of OC Media and https://bakuresearchinstitute.org/.

Human rights activists have recognized Samedov as a political prisoner.

In December, Samedov’s arrest was extended until March 9.