The court refused to transfer Aziz Orujev to house arrest

Baku/27.12.23/Turan: Today, the Sabail district Court considered a petition to change the preventive measure against the head of the “Channel-13” YouTube project, Aziz Orujev, and transfer him to house arrest.

The defense motivated the petition by the absence of corpus delicti in the actions incriminated to him, lawyer Bahruz Bayramov told Turan. On the other hand, the lawyer continued, even if bringing Orujev to criminal responsibility would be justified and there is no need to keep him in custody for the period of the investigation. According to the lawyer, the investigation did not provide reasonable evidence that, while remaining at large, Orujev could hide or somehow interfere with the investigation. Orujev himself linked the criminal case with his professional journalistic work, the lawyer said. Orujev is outraged by the blocking  his mother's pension card by the investigation, Bayramov added.

Another lawyer, Agil Laidj, told Turan that during the trial, the confidentiality of the defenders' communication with Orujev was violated. So the guards stood in front of the glass cage and did not allow the lawyers to talk with Orujev.

Orujev was detained on November 27 and charged under Article 188.2 (unauthorized construction or installation work on a land plot without a legally established right of ownership, use or lease). The next day, the court chose a preventive measure against him in the form of arrest. On December 19, he was also charged under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling by prior agreement of a group of persons) of the Criminal Code. Orujev faces up to 8 years in prison.

Aziz Orujev was sentenced in 2017 to 6 years in prison on charges of illegal entrepreneurship. In 2018, the Supreme Court revised the punishment and overturned the charge of illegal entrepreneurship. -21B06-