Court sentenced activist to 3 years of imprisonment

The trial of public activist Zyaka Miragayev, accused of drug trafficking, has been completed in the Baku Court for Serious Crimes presided over by Kyamran Mukhtarov.

In his last word, the defendant once again rejected the charges against him, defence lawyer Elchin Sadygov said.

The activist said he was subjected to tortures after being detained by the police, and under physical pressure he incriminated himself. A policeman put drugs in his pocket, Miragayev said.

Miragayev also stated that the court did not conduct an objective investigation and did not even request the records from the video cameras of the 9th branch of the Sabail police department of Baku when he was there. In such a case it would have become clear what happened to him in the police.

Miragayev emphasised that he was persecuted because of criticism of illegal actions of police bodies.

Earlier, the prosecutor suggested that Miragayev be sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment.

The defence asked to acquit the activist.

As a result of the proceedings, the court re-classified the charge from Article 234.4.3 (illegal trafficking of drugs for the purpose of sale on a large scale) to a milder one - 234.1-1 (illegal acquisition, storage, manufacture, processing, transportation of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances on a large scale without the purpose of sale) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and sentenced Miragayev to three years in prison.The defence intends to appeal the verdict.

Recall that Miragayev was detained on 11 October 2023. The Sabail court arrested him for 4 months and since then the terms of arrest have been extended.

Miragaev did not plead guilty. In court, he said he was taken away from his home and the drugs were put in his pocket by police officers.

Miragaev's relatives connect the arrest of the activist with his open letter, in which he criticised the leadership of the Interior Ministry.