Another trial in the case of former MP Huseyn Abdullayev
On August 15, a preliminary hearing was held at the Baku Court for Serious Crimes under the chairmanship of Judge Azer Taghiyev in the case of former MP Huseyn Abdullayev. According to his lawyer, Gunay Ismayilova, Abdullayev participated in the proceedings despite his poor health. The defense petitioned to transfer Abdullayev to a medical facility and place him under house arrest due to serious health problems. The court denied the petition for house arrest but approved his transfer to a medical facility under the Penitentiary Service. The next hearing is scheduled for August 22.
Huseyn Abdullayev was charged with money laundering (Article 193-1.3.2 of the Criminal Code) 47 days before the end of his six-year prison sentence. On March 4 of this year, the Binagadi District Court ordered the former MP to be arrested for four months.
Under the new charges, Abdullayev is accused of laundering 6 million manat from 2006 to 2014, even though his activities from 2000 to 2018 were already investigated. If convicted under the new charges, Abdullayev faces 7 to 12 years in prison.
*Huseyn Abdullayev held prominent positions in the oil products business in the 1990s. In 2005, he became a member of parliament and criticized the Cabinet of Ministers. In March 2007, MP Fazail Aghamali provoked Abdullayev into a fight during a parliamentary session. However, only Abdullayev was punished. He was initially arrested and later given a two-year suspended sentence for hooliganism.
In 2013, he emigrated from Azerbaijan. Sometime later, a criminal case was opened against him for tax evasion.
On April 22, 2018, Abdullayev was detained in Türkiye, where he arrived from Germany, and was extradited to Azerbaijan.
In Baku, he was charged under Article 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship with significant income), Article 178.2.1 (fraud), Articles 178.2.2, 178.2.4 (fraud), Articles 182.2.1 (extortion by threats in collusion with others), 182.2.2 (repeated offenses), and 182.2.4 (causing significant damage to the victim) of the Criminal Code. Subsequently, he was sentenced to six years in prison.
In August 2020, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled for Abdullayev's immediate release.
Forty-seven days before the end of his six-year prison sentence, in early March of this year, new charges were brought against him. He is now accused of money laundering (Article 193-1.3.2 of the Criminal Code), specifically laundering 6 million manat from 2006 to 2014, even though his actions from 2000 to 2018 had already been investigated.
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