Eldar Hasanov: projects abroad were controlled by appointees from Baku

Baku/10.09.21/Turan: The Baku Court for Serious Crimes yesterday began considering the merits of a criminal case against the former Azerbaijani Ambassador to Serbia and ex-Prosecutor General Eldar Hasanov.

At the beginning of the hearing, the court granted the defense's request and allowed Hasanov to sit next to the lawyers.

The defenders also petitioned for the release of Hasanov from custody due to a serious state of health conditions for hospitalization in a specialized clinic.

"How can conditions for treatment be created in the pre-trial detention center? And this morning I started having acute pains, but respecting the court, I agreed to participate, " Hasanov noted. However, the court did not grant the request.

Further, Hasanov asked the court to conduct an investigation in closed mode. According to him, some facts might damage the international image of Azerbaijan.

"If I testify on the charges, Azerbaijan's relations with the countries where I was an Ambassador might be damaged," Hasanov said.

He further complained about unfair investigation and persecution of relatives, in particular, the arrest of the house he granted to his granddaughter which was purchased back in 1996 before his appointment as Ambassador.

"For the sake of the interests of the state, I'd like to hold a closed trial, or at least its parts when there will be testimony on these issues," Hasanov said.

However, the prosecutor objected as saying that there was no state secret in the case materials. The court rejected the petition.

Then the prosecutor announced an indictment under which Hasanov embezzled 17 million 931.316 manats from funds for purchase of buildings for the Embassy, for construction and repair work.

Besides, he is charged with the legalization of funds obtained by criminal means worth 11 million 804.000 manats and the misuse of budget funds in the amount of 192.000 manats.

However,Hasanov rejected the accusations as pointing out that during his work as Ambassador, projects were financed from the state budget and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. All projects were coordinated at the highest level, and the management was entrusted to two persons appointed by the state. They were provided with diplomatic passports and they controlled the entire process on the spot -- from the preparation of monuments in Baku to their installation abroad.

Further, Hasanov's health condition worsened and his testimony was postponed to the next meeting.

* Eldar Hasanov was detained on August 13, 2020 by the State Security Service. Charges were brought against him under five Articles: 179.3.2 (embezzlement), 193-1. 3. 2 (legalization of illegally obtained funds), 308.2 (abuse of office), 308-1. 1 (misuse of budget funds) and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code.

Note that Hasanov is accused of embezzlement and misappropriation while working as the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro from 2010 to 2020. -06B-