At Tofig Yagublu's trial: investigation's version shattered by witnesses' testimonies

Baku Court for Serious Crimes, chaired by Elnur Nuriyev, held a regular session on 29 November on the case of Tofig Yagublu, a member of the coordination centre of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) and the Musavat Party.

According to the indictment, Yagublu allegedly promised the victim Elshan Huseynov a visa and subsequent citizenship in Germany in exchange for 25,000 euros and 10,000 manats. According to the investigation, the money was transferred through another defendant in the case, Elnur Mammadov.

According to the prosecution, the money was handed over by Mammadov to Yagublu at around 4 pm on 8 December 2023 in the village of Zabrat.

However, defence witnesses who spoke at the trial on 29 November refuted this claim.

In particular, Vidadi Mirkamal, a member of the NCDF, stated that on that day a meeting of this structure was held at his dacha in Pirshagi village and Yagublu arrived at the event around half past three and left at seven in the evening.

The witness added that Yagublu had written on whatsapp to members of the NCDF coordination centre about the surveillance of his car recently before his arrest.

Another defence witness, opposition activist Huseyn Melik, said he saw a man who came to see Yagublu in front of Narimanov Court and Baku Court of Appeal when hearings on Gubad Ibadoglu's case were held there.

According to Melik, he came with a folder of papers and approached Yagublu and asked him to ‘support’ efforts in defence of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who was arrested in Georgia, and to sign a petition demanding his release.

‘Tofig bey told me that this man was sent to us by the authorities, for provocation, be careful. And I warned our friends to keep him away from us,’ Melik continued.

When the judge asked Melik if he could identify this man among those present in the room, he pointed to Mammadov, another defendant in the case.

‘This one here. When he came to the court, he wore a wig on his head,’ Melik said.

The judge then announced the end of the witness hearings. At the next session on 12 December, the court will start examining documents.

At the same time, the judge again left without consideration the motion to request the mobile phone profiles of the accused.

He said the matter would be considered after the examination of the documents.

Yagublu said the production of the aerial data would completely demolish the investigators' version that money was handed over to him at Zabrat township as it would be confirmed that he was not there.

 *As a reminder, Tofig Yagublu, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces and Musavat Party, was arrested on 14 December 2023 on charges of fraud, falsification and illegal production of official documents and use of forged documents.

Yagublu called the charges far-fetched. The politician has previously been repeatedly subjected to criminal and administrative prosecution. International organisations have recognised him as a prisoner of conscience.