Akif Gurbanov's associates claim  investigation violated his children's rights

 On 26 July "Platform III of the Republic" made a statement which drew attention to the unlawful seizure of electronic devices of underage children of the arrested head of this structure Akif Gurbanov.

As noted in the statement, on 6 March, on the day of A.Gurbanov's detention, the car of his father Yagub Gurbanov ‘Hunday Velacruz’ was searched.

During the search, 1 "Redmi" phone, 2 ‘"Iphone" phones and a "Macbook" computer belonging to Gurbanov's school-aged children were seized.

During the search, Akif Gurbanov's minor children were in the car. (Their grandfather drove them to school and back home daily). The search was conducted in violation of the principle of prioritising the interests of children as set forth in the European Convention on Human Rights. Moreover, after the search, Akif Gurbanov's father was subjected to brief detention,’ the "Platform"s statement further said.

 At the same time, the document further said, the investigation team of the Baku city police headquarters seized electronic devices belonging to Gurbanov's children as if they had been taken from the office of "Platform III of the Republic" and seized them.

‘As a result, Akif Gurbanov's children were deprived of electronic devices necessary for their studies,’ the statement further reads.

According to the authors of the statement, the law enforcers violated a number of national laws and provisions of the European Convention.

 In particular, the principle of prioritizing the interests of children was violated, as the police officers violently searched their grandfather's car.

According to Article 12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 4 of the Law "On operative-search activities", investigative actions and operative-search activities must be carried out with respect for fundamental constitutional rights and freedoms.

In addition, it was a violation of the law that the devices were seized not from Gurbanov's father's car, but from the office of "Platform III of the Republic".

Thus, the investigative body carried out illegal logging.

Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the Convention (right to property) were violated in respect of A.Gurbanov and his father Y.Gurbanov.

The rights of A.Gurbanov's children under Article 2 of Protocol 1 to the Convention (right to education) were also violated.

Gurbanov's associates told Turan that his father filed a complaint in the order of judicial supervision against the illegal search in his car and seizure of property from it. The court did not accept the case under the pretext that there were no documents on the search. In fact, the search was carried out without legal authorization.

Nevertheless, according to his associates, Gurbanov will have an opportunity to appeal against all procedural violations, violations of his rights and the rights of his relatives, in the European Court of Human Rights at the end of the preliminary investigation.

*Akif Gurbanov was detained on 6 March 2024 as part of the "Toplum TV" case. On 8 March, Khatai district court arrested him for 4 months.

Also detained were Alesker Mammadli, founder of "Toplum TV" website, Ruslan Izzatli, editor of ‘"Toplum TV", a member of "Platform III of the Republic" and a member of "Platform III of the Republic" Ruslan Izzatli, editor of "Toplum TV" Mushfik Jabbar, employees of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives Ramil Babayev, Ilkin Amrakhov and Ali Zeynal.

All detainees were accused of currency smuggling,at that, pro-government media reported on the alleged "illegal receipt of grants from abroad.

International organizations, including the US State Department, have called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release those unjustly arrested.