Witness Against Hilal Mamedov is Questioned in Court Again

The trial of the "Tolyshi sado"  newspaper editor, Hilal Mamedov, continued today in the Baku Serious Crimes Court.  The trial, like the previous ones, was held behind closed doors.

According to the lawyer Khalid Bagirov, the main witness, Elman Guliyev, again gave testimonies against Mamedov. 

This man was also the chief witness for the prosecution at the previous case against another editor of "Tolyshi Sado," Novruzali Mammadov. The witness Elman Guliyev, was sentenced to six years in prison, and has just been released after serving that sentence.

While in prison, in June 2012, he testified against H.Mamedov, although at the previous trial in the case of Novruzali Mamedov, he claimed he did not know Hilal Mamedov.  Today, Elman Guliyev repeated his accusation of H.Mamedov "anti-state activities".  He argued that a long time ago the late Novruzali Mammadov told him about these activities.  However, he could not clearly answer the question of what exactly are the anti-state activities, and why he kept silence for so many years?

Contrary to his previous testimonies, Guliyev now claims that he met with H.Mamedov in 2006 at a tea house, along with the poet Ali Nasser.  Atakhan Abilov, who is in exile, can testify to it. 

At the same time, Guliyev could not answer when the defense presented evidence that the above mentioned people did not take part in such a meeting.   

Hilal Mamedov called Guliyev "a mentally disabled person." 

The next hearing will take place on April 10.

* Hilal Mamedov was arrested on June 21, 2012, and accused of three crime Articles: treason, illegal possession of drugs, and inciting ethnic hatred. However, the international community and local human rights activists consider him a prisoner of conscience.  By using concocted accusations of treason, authorities are holding a closed trial.—06B—