Another farce in trial of NIDA activists

In the Baku Court of Grave Crimes chaired by Javid Huseynov on Thursday continued the trial of seven activists of NIDA and member of the organization "Free Youth" Ilkin Rustamzade.

They are accused of the preparation of riots on March 10 in Baku on Fountain Square. In addition, they are charged with illegal possession of weapons, drugs and disorderly conduct.

Before the meeting, the defendants brought in the iron cage required to provide journalists place in the forefront of the hall, so that it was convenient to observe and listen to the trial.

However, the officers were initially reluctant to comply with this requirement, which caused outrage and violent protests of the accused who demanded to create normal conditions for the press. Ultimately, the warders had to yield.

Lawyer Javad Javadli asked to explain to him and the defendant the gist of the charge with hooliganism. Note that the investigation also incriminates Ilkin Rustamzade and Bakhtiyar Guliyev of " immoral acts on a bronze sculpture on the boulevard," where they "along with others stripped to the waist, swinging their arms and legs, and did defiant movements." Moreover, they took "these acts of hooliganism on video and posted them on March 1, entitled Harlem Shake-ParkBulvar on the Internet."

Javadli explained that the criminal law "hooliganism" is classified as a gross violation of public order, no respect for society , violence or threat of violence or destruction of another's property. However, in this case there are no victims, and it turns out that the investigation recognizes the "victim" a bronze sculpture.

However, the prosecutor opposed the request , and the judge dismissed it.

Then he announced the beginning of testimony of the accused and gave the floor to Bakhtiyar Guliyev .

He said that at this stage of the investigation he refused to testify and would speak after the investigation of prosecution evidence.

The judge warned that in such a case he would read his testimony at the preliminary investigation. This led to protests of the lawyers who said that the testimony of the investigation was evidence of the prosecution, and the young people rejected that.

However, the judge insisted.

Lawyer Elton Guliyev thus called the "integrity" of the court misplaced, pointing to many precedents where judges heard the accused after the evidence investigation.

However, the judge Huseynov was firm and began to read the testimony by Guliyev.

Thus, immediately after the arrest on March 7 Guliyev said that during the search of his house there was found a plastic bag with a matchbox, inside of which was grass, and in the yard they found a box with firebombs. Guliyev denied involvement in these findings.

However, in the testimony on March 8 and 9, he "acknowledged " that the meetings of NIDA discussed issues of preparation for revolution in Azerbaijan. In early March, a young man met Guliyev and pulled out of the trunk of his car VAZ 2106 a box with firebombs and handed it to Guliyev and said that it was from another defendant, Rashad Hasanov.

Guliyev allegedly shifted it into a taxi and brought home and remembered the words by Rashad Hasanov that "for the revolution they must first arrange unrest in Egypt." These words caused laughter in the courtroom. And Guliyev shouted to the judge that there was no interrogation and the investigators invented all that on his behalf.

The judge adjourned the meeting to December 10.

Lawyer Khalid Bagirov said the court violated the rights of the accused . -06D-