Agali Yahyaev told the Court of Appeal about torture in the police

Baku/06.09.23/Turan: A member of the Board of the “Muslim Unity” Movement, Agali Yahyaev, accused of drug trafficking, was tortured by the police after being detained. The defense drew attention to the activist's statement about the torture in the Court of Appeal. In this regard, the consideration of the appeal was postponed until September 7.

On September 6, Yahyaev's sister Elnara Eldarqizi met with her brother in the Baku pre-trial detention center-1 in the village of Kurdakhany.  Yahyaev told about the torture of him in the police after his arrest, Elnara said. According to her, on August 31, Yahyaev was detained in the village of Mehtiabad by employees of the Drug Control Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and taken to the local police station. "An officer with the rank of colonel and other employees tried for two hours to persuade Agali to confess to possession and sale of drugs. When he refused, they began to torture him. The police tied Agali's hands and beat him with fists all over his body, struck him with a baton on the heels. His legs were swollen from these blows. Even despite the torture, Agali refused to confess to the crime he had not committed," the activist's sister noted.

He was forced into self-incrimination only after threats of rape with a baseball bat, she continued. Elnara reported that her brother showed her the hematomas on his back.

On September 6, the Sumgait Court of Appeal considered a complaint against the arrest of Yahyaev. He himself participated in the  trial online from the Baku pre-trial detention center-1.

Lawyer Zibeyda Sadygova had an online conversation with him before the trial.  He also showed  her  the bruises on his back, the effects of blows on his heels.

According to the lawyer, Yahyaev's injuries were also recorded when he was admitted to the pre-trial detention center. Yahyaev told the lawyer that when the Absheron district Court chose a preventive measure against him in the form of arrest, he informed the judge about the torture and showed injuries on his body, and also asked that Sadygova be invited as a defender. But the Absheron court did not consider his testimony and Yahyaev's request. Despite the fact that there was a video and audio recording of the trial, the activist's words about torture and a request to invite a lawyer of his choice were not reflected in the protocol.

In this regard, in the Sumgayit Court of Appeal Sadygova  petitioned to view and listen to the recordings of the trial of the Absheron court. However, Judge Rashadat Agayev decided to investigate the recordings without the participation of a lawyer and postponed the hearing until September 7.

In the appeal, the defense asks to release Yahyaev from custody and stop his criminal prosecution.

This position is based on the fact that after his detention, Yahyaev was not allowed to contact his family and invite a lawyer of his choice. Thus, his right to defense was grossly violated,  the lawyer Sadygova stressed.

In addition, torture was used against him for the purpose of confessing, that is, evidence was obtained by illegal methods. The defense also asked the Court of Appeal to appeal to the prosecutor's office to investigate Yahyaev's complaint of torture.

The attempts to get comments in the  Interior Ministry were futile.

Yahyaev was detained on August 31. The next day, he was charged under  the Article 234.4.3 (large-scale drug trafficking) of the Criminal Code and the court's decision have chosen a preventive measure in the form of arrest. Yahyaev faces a sentence of imprisonment from 5 to 12 years.—06B-