Prosecutor asked to sentence  Activist Ilhamiz Guliyev to seven years of imprisonment

On November 28, another hearing took place in the case of public activist Ilhamiz Guliyev. During the proceedings, the court reviewed a response from the 28th Police Station of the Yasamal District in Baku. At the previous hearing, the defense had requested that the court obtain footage from the surveillance cameras at this police station, where Guliyev was taken on December 4 of last year. However, the police response stated that the video footage had not been preserved.

Furthermore, Yasamal police claimed that there were no injuries on Guliyev’s body after his arrival at the station and that no physical force had been applied to him. In response, Guliyev's lawyer, Zibeyda Sadygova, stated that injuries to her client's body had been recorded in his medical chart, which is kept by the police.

In the court's inquiry to the temporary detention facility, it was reported that Guliyev was not held there on December 4. During the trial, the defense filed several motions, including a request to return Guliyev’s mobile phone, which was seized after his arrest. However, the motion was denied.

The prosecutor then spoke, asserting that Ilhamiz Guliyev’s guilt had been fully proven and called for a 7-year prison sentence. The defense attorney requested time to prepare for the final statement. The trial was adjourned until December 13.

*It should be noted that Guliyev was detained on December 4, 2023, and arrested two days later, on December 6, for four months on charges of large-scale drug trafficking. However, the real reason for Guliyev’s arrest appears to be an interview he gave to the media outlet Abzas Media, in which he exposed illegal activities by the police and the falsification of criminal cases. Human rights organizations have recognized Guliyev as a political prisoner.