At the trial in the case of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev

On Monday, hearings in the case of activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev continued at the Baku Court for Serious Crimes. At the beginning of the session, Hajiyev drew attention to the unjustified criminal prosecution of activist Raheel Abbasov, who had previously organized public defense for Hajiyev.

Last week, the prosecutor proposed sentencing Abbasov to 8 years in prison on charges of embezzling 200,000 manats through fraud. Despite the fabricated criminal case against Abbasov, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev requested the court to use his confiscated property to cover the amount allegedly embezzled by Abbasov. Hajiyev also asked the court to drop the charges against him under Articles 192 (illegal entrepreneurship) and 193-1 (money laundering) of the Criminal Code, arguing that no crime had been committed.

Regarding the charge of "contempt of court," Hajiyev also requested that the victim, Ulviya Muradova (Alovlu), be brought up as a defendant, as she had initiated the incident. He also called for criminal charges to be brought against Alovlu and the court guard, Orkhan Abdullayev, for giving false testimony in court. The court rejected all of these motions. The next hearing is scheduled for December 28.

*Public activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev was arrested in December 2022 on charges of hooliganism and contempt of court. On June 16 of the previous year, he was charged with financial violations, including embezzling grants. He was also accused of illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, smuggling, and using forged documents.

In November of the same year, another charge was brought against him - tax evasion. Hajiyev and his colleagues consider the trial to be politically motivated, stemming from his sharp criticism of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs and, in particular, its minister, Vilayat Eyvazov.