The former head of the Interbank announced a hunger strike in custody
On May 1, the former head of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), Jahangir Hajiyev, announced a hunger strike in prison N13 in protest against the absence of effective medical care and conditions of detention, his lawyer Hajiyev Fahraddin Mehdiyev, who met with his client on May 2, said Turan. According to him, Hajiyev suffers from thyroid disease, cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension. However, despite repeated appeals, he is not being transferred either to the Medical Institution of the penitentiary service or the medical and sanitary part of the colony, Mehdiyev said.
Moreover, in recent days, Hajiyev has not been allowed to store medicines in the refrigerator, which are given to him by his relatives. The former banker also complains about the conditions of detention in an overcrowded barrack with unsanitary conditions. Hajiyev demands the creation of conditions for effective medical care and improvement of conditions of detention, the lawyer said.
*• Former Chairman of the Board of OJSC IBA Jahangir Hajiyev was arrested in December 2015. In October 2016, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on October 14, 2016. Three more defendants received actual sentences, four were given suspended sentences.
The court found the defendants guilty under articles 179.3.1, 179.3.2 (large-scale embezzlement by an organized group), 308.2 (abuse of official powers, resulting in grave consequences), 309.2 (excess of official powers, resulting in grave consequences), 313 (official forgery) and other articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
Gadzhiev did not admit his guilt, and his defenders called the trial biased.
In December 2018, the Prosecutor General's Office brought new charges against Gadzhiev for embezzling a large sum of money, laundering proceeds from crime, tax evasion, etc.
In September 2019, the court added another year and a half to Gadzhiev’s prison term.
Law enforcement agencies claimed that the amount of funds embezzled by Hajiyev amounted to 4 billion manats. However, his lawyers said these allegations were not supported by credible evidence.
In February 2020, the Baku Court of Appeal reduced the term by 3 months due to the mitigation in the legislation of punishment under articles: 179.3 (large embezzlement) and 308.2 (abuse of official powers) of the Criminal Code.
In February 2022, the ECHR upheld Gadzhiev’s complaint regarding the pre-trial arrest and ordered compensation in the amount of 3,500 euros.
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