Trial in the case of Famil Khalilov

The trial of disabled activist Famil Khalilov, who is paralyzed and has a first-degree disability, continued today in the Baku Serious Crimes Court. At the beginning of the  trial, it was announced that the witness in this case would be unable to attend the hearing, so the trial was postponed to February 6. However, Khalilov's defense presented several motions, which the court heard.

The first motion concerned sending a request to the Binagadi District Prosecutor's Office for information about the investigation into Khalilov's complaint about mistreatment during his detention.

The second motion requested the antenna data for the witnesses in the case and the police officers who detained Khalilov on the day of his arrest. This motion was connected to Khalilov's statement that he was arrested at home, not on the street at a distant location.

There was also a motion to question Khalilov's wife and relatives as additional witnesses since they could confirm that the activist was detained at home.

Another motion sought to request video footage from surveillance cameras at the location where, according to the investigation, Khalilov was arrested.

The defense also asked for the investigator from the Binagadi Police Department, who opened the criminal case against Khalilov, to be questioned.

Additionally, the defense requested that the court obtain information from the police about the source of the intelligence regarding the presence of drugs on Khalilov.

Another motion was about obtaining data from the "Electronic Court" portal to verify whether the witnesses in this case had participated in other court proceedings.

The court rejected requests for antenna data, the source of intelligence, and the questioning of the investigator. The decision on the motion to call additional witnesses was postponed.

The motions for requests to the prosecutor's office, the electronic court system, and the video surveillance footage were approved.

Famil Khalilov, a person with paralyzed arms, was arrested on May 2 under Article 234.4.3 of the Criminal Code (production, transportation, and storage of drugs in large quantities with the intent to sell). He was placed under pretrial detention for 4 months. This charge carries a sentence of 5 to 12 years in prison. His family claims that the true reason for his arrest is his critical posts about the authorities on social media.

On August 15, Khalilov began a hunger strike demanding his release. In mid-November, he suspended the hunger strike after promises of his release. On November 28, after the court refused to change his detention conditions, he declared a new hunger strike, this time a dry hunger strike. On December 3, the court transferred him to house arrest.