Eldar Hasanov said about the investigation prejudgment and the falsification of charges

Baku/17.08.21/Turan: Former Azerbaijani Ambassador to Serbia and ex-Prosecutor General of the country, Eldar Hasanov denied charges against him in a statement distributed through lawyers.

During the investigation period, only once - on August 13, 2020 (the day after his detention), he made brief statements in court. ”I regarded the incident as a misunderstanding and expressed hopes that all issues will be investigated objectively and fairly, so I expressed my faith in the justice of President Ilham Aliyev," Hasanov notes.

He stressed that he gave no other testimonies, because he considered the charges to be “illegal, unfounded, biased and ordered.”

"In reality, the true reasons for the arrest were false information provided to the country's leadership about alleged existence of my political ambitions, as well as my cooperation with the political opposition, about my alleged statements against the authorities," Hasanov writes.

At the same time, Hasanov notes that at closed meetings in the Foreign Ministry, as well as at the meeting of Azerbaijani Ambassadors to Europe on February 2, 2020 in Brussels, as well as in official dispatches, he criticized "the indifferent attitude that harms the policy pursued by the state." "But as a responsible official, I have never made it public anywhere. The transcripts of my speeches and letters are contained in the relevant state structures," he writes.

Further Hasanov notes that a campaign of blackening has been mounted against him. "I know organizers of targeted information against me and its dissemination in various media over the past 2 years," he writes, noting that two high-ranking officials formed a false opinion about him and, if necessary, I will disclose their names.

He added that at various stages of the investigation, he was required to give evidence against some persons in exchange for his release. However, he rejected this deal.

Hasanov further states that for 27 years he has been faithful to the policy of Heydar Aliyev and the current President, Ilham Aliyev.

In conclusion, he noted that the charges against him were not based on reliable evidence while legal and procedural bases are ordered, biased to pursue the goal of revenge.

Hasanov also believes that due to the "prejudgment" of the prosecutor's office he could not receive a timely, specialized medical examination and treatment.

Initially, Hasanov was charged under Articles 308.2 (abuse of official powers which entailed serious consequences) and 308-1.1 (misuse of state budget funds) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. However, according to the results of the investigation, he was also accused of three more Articles: 179.3.2 (large scale embezzlement), 193-1.3.2 (legalization of illegally obtained funds), and 313 (forgery of documents) of the Criminal Code.

If earlier Hasanov was threatened with up to seven years of imprisonment, now it is up to 10 years of imprisonment.

According to investigators, as an Ambassador to Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro in 2010-2020, Hasanov colluded with a group of individuals, embezzled and appropriated 17,931,316 manats (10,554,036 dollars). Under the pretext of buying buildings for embassies and repairing them, he legalized 11,804,661 manats (6,948,002 dollars). Hasanov also caused significant damage to the interests of the state amounting to 327,373 manats (192,685 dollars), and embezzled budget funds worth 192,387 manats (113,235 dollars) for other purposes.—06D-