Tofig Yagublu emphasizes falsification of charges against him

Baku Serious Crimes Court heard his testimony at the trial of opposition politician Tofig Yagublu.

He rejected the charges against him as saying that the testimony of another defendant in the case Elnur Vagifoglu and the victim Elshan Huseynov that the politician allegedly received money from them in exchange for providing the latter with a Schengen visa is a lie.

To support this, it is enough to check the location of Yagublu and the above-mentioned persons on mobile phone aerial data and it will be found out that at the time of the alleged "money transfer" they were in different parts of the city.

Yagublu said that Vagifoglu had been trying to gain his trust for a long time.

In particular, Vagifoglu approached Yagublu during the court hearings on Gubad Ibadoglu's case.

Aside from this, Vagifoglu called Yagublu and assured him that he was preparing to establish a human rights organization.

Vagifoglu also stated that he was going to defend the rights of Mikhail Saakashvili and asked Yagublu, as a Georgian native, to help him in this endeavor.

However, according to the politician, he suspected from the very beginning that Vagifoglu did not have good intentions and did not let him closer to him.

Yagublu called the fact that he allegedly promised to secure a visa within a day as another proof of the prosecution's lies.

"Everyone knows you can't get a Schengen visa in 1 day," Yagublu said.

"And in general, if they provided me with money, then why didn't they demand it back. In the case there is no evidence of their calls to me, nor any correspondence on the phone,’ Yagublu added.

During the hearing, Yagublu had a conflict with judge Elnur Nagiyev.

The reason for this was the judge's removal of Yagublu's daughter and son-in-law, Nigar Hazi and Seymur Hazi, for the entire trial.

Yagublu declared that in such a case he also refuses to participate in the process.

The next session of the court is scheduled for 13 September.

It is to recall that Tofig Yagublu, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces and Musavat Party, was arrested on 14 December 2023 on charges of fraud, falsification and illegal production of official documents and use of forged documents.

Yagublu called the charges far-fetched. The politician has previously been repeatedly subjected to criminal and administrative prosecution. International organizations have recognized him as a prisoner of conscience.