The "Terter case": 19 people - released, 2 dead soldiers - acquitted. Has justice prevailed?

Baku/06.12.22/Turan: A widespread message from the Prosecutor General's Office states that the Plenum of the Supreme Court considered, canceled and returned to the relevant courts judgments in three criminal cases ( the "Terter case") against 19 persons found guilty of treason and in other crimes. Of these, 10 people were acquitted, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office announced on December 6.

In turn, the courts canceled the decisions in these cases and returned them to the prosecutor, who carried out the procedural management of the preliminary investigation.

It is noted that during the additional investigation, the guilt of these persons in high treason was not proven: “As a result, they were brought to criminal responsibility on acquittal grounds (Article 39.2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Including other episodes, concerning 10 of them (crimes against military service, etc.), decisions were made to terminate the criminal prosecution on disrespectful grounds, and they were released after the measure of restraint chosen against them was cancelled.

Since, during the investigation, the guilt of Mehman Huseynov and Agazade Elkhan was not proven, decisions were made to terminate the criminal prosecution against them on acquittal grounds (Article 39.2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

Sahib Karimli, a member of the Committee Against Repression and Torture, talks about this process in the “Difficult Question” program.

According to him, during the "Terter Massacre" 14 people were killed, in addition to 19 servicemen who received acquittal, about 40 servicemen were illegally sentenced to various terms (after serving their sentences they were released), thousands of people were tortured and persecuted, the many families who were arrested in connection with this case were spread dirty rumors, their children were subjected to psychological pressure in schools.

According to Karimli, the dissemination of information about the “Terter case” among the public is, first of all, the merit of human rights activist Oktay Gyulalyev, expert Arastun Orujlu and YouTube-TV Azerfreedom. On December 7, 2021, the campaign in defense of the victims of the “Terter case” grew into a political action, announced under the name “Letter to the President”.

“The citizens of the country, as well as the victims of the “Terter case”, opposed the lawlessness committed by the prosecutor's office and the judiciary. But after all the legal procedures had already been exhausted, there was a need for a political action, writing a collective “Letter to the President”. Thus, this action acquired a political character, which predetermined a new investigation,” Karimli believes. –0--