The court did not grant the lawyer's motion in the case of public activist Rail Abbasov

On October 10, the Baku Serious Crimes Court continued the proceedings in the case of public activist Rail Abbasov, who is accused of "fraud"

Abbasov's lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, requested an examination of Abbasov's mobile phone and the presentation of the results in court. The defense believes this will reveal the absence of calls to Abbasov from the "victim," while the prosecution claims otherwise. The court postponed consideration of the request until the stage of examining material evidence.

In this context, the lawyer submitted a request for the phone's contents to be made available to the defense. However, the court also deferred this request until the material evidence stage.

In response, lawyer Sadigov protested, stating that there should be no restriction on the defense’s access to material evidence. The judge countered that this was not a restriction, but simply a postponement of the matter. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for October 31.

*On September 20, 2023, the Nasimi District Court of Baku ordered Abbasov's arrest for four months under Article 178.3.2 (fraud in a large amount) of the Criminal Code. The case is based on a complaint from Asker Haziyev, who alleges that Abbasov defrauded him of 200,000 manats. Abbasov denies the accusation and believes that the true reason for his persecution is his active involvement in defending the rights of activist Bakhtiyar Gadzhiev, who was arrested in December 2022. Human rights defenders have recognized both individuals as political prisoners.