A preparatory meeting for the trial of former deputy MM Guler Ahmadova was held on Monday in the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, chaired by Alisultan Osmanov.
The meeting began with the lawyer Afsar Talybov, who asked the court to stop the prosecution under Article 178.2 (fraud) due to lack of evidence. As for the video footage presented, it was a fake.
In particular, there is no video on the transfer of money to Guler Ahmedova.
In addition, Elshad Abdullayev did not give evidence at the inquest and was not delivered to Azerbaijan, and the hidden recording he produced is a violation of the law.
The lawyer also asked to stop prosecuting on Article 307.2 (failure to report a crime) and to exclude deceased people from the list of witnesses.
The defender also demanded that Elshad Abdullayev be made to testify.
Finally, he asked to replace the arrest of Guler Ahmadova by house arrest.
The defendant Guler Ahmedova alleged a violation of her "fundamental" rights. "The reports of the U.S. State Department and the OSCE, called me a criminal, which is a violation of the presumption of innocence. Let the State Department and the OSCE come to court," she demanded.
Next Ahmedova rejected the receipt of a bribe, saying that it was slander and she will fight to the end.
Judge Alisultan Osmanov said Elshad Abdullayev had filed a lawsuit demanding to recognize him as a victim, and to pay him compensation of 1 million manats.
The state prosecutor Eldar Khamzaev, in turn, spoke out against the majority of applications. However, the Court did not satisfy most of the requests of the defendant.
Recall that Guler Ahmedova is accused of fraud and embezzlement on a large scale, and of harboring serious crime. On both counts she faces imprisonment of up to 12 years with confiscation of property.
The reason for the arrest was the video, spread by the former rector of the International University, Elshad Abdullayev. On these shots, taken with a hidden camera, you can see how Ahmedova and her accomplice Babayeva extort $1 million from Abdullayev for his election as an MP. -16/04D-
Politics
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