Bakhtiyar Hajiyev charged with another charge

Baku/07.11.23/Turan: Public activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, currently in jail, has been charged with a new charge, lawyer Elchin Sadigov told Turan.

In particular, he was charged under Article 213.1 of the Criminal Code (tax evasion, unemployment insurance payments, compulsory medical and social insurance).

As the lawyer noted, the new charge, like the previous ones, have no grounds and are fabricated.

"The new charge has ben brought not on the basis of the income of the organization headed by Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, but other structures. That is, the investigation believes that if other organizations have certain incomes, then Hajiyev's structure should have the same income," the lawyer said.

Human rights activist Rufat Safarov, commenting on the new accusation, called Hajiyev a "political hostage."

"The deadlines stipulated by the law for conducting the investigation have expired, and he is being charged with more and more charges," Safarov said.

As a reminder, Bakhtiar Hajiyev was detained on December 9, 2022 on charges of hooliganism under Articles 221 and 289 (disrespect for the court) of the Criminal Code.

In July this year, he was charged under Articles 192 (illegal entrepreneurship), 193-1 (legalization of proceeds from crime) and 206 (smuggling) of the Criminal Code.

All the charges are fabricated. The reason for the arrest and charges is punishment for criticizing the authorities, Bakhtiar Hajiyev is convinced.

Human rights activists recognized him as a political prisoner. -06B-