Court Again Refuses to Interrogate Ali Hasanov�s Spouse

Baku / 09.18.19 / Turan: On September 27, the Baku Serious Crimes Court, chaired by Azer Pashayev, held a regular meeting on the case of the appropriation of 564 thousand manats at the Lyceum of Caspian School LLC.

The accused in the case are two accountants of the Lyceum - Tural Mammadov and Farahim Mohbaliyev. They are charged under Article 179.4 of the Criminal Code (large assignment).

At the meeting, the lawyers of both defendants petitioned to summon and interrogate the founder of the lyceum, Sona Veliyeva, the wife of Ali Hasanov, the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan on public affairs.

The defense also petitioned to request from Veliyeva the book of accounting for the money received by her from accountants, to interrogate the experts who gave an expert opinion on the case, to appoint a second examination, etc.

The lawyers also indicated that during the audit at the Lyceum, the participation of the accused was not ensured.

Attorney Adem Mammadov noted that the defendants testified that they had transferred Veliyeva money received from parents for educating their children, but there was no confrontation between them.

During the trial, it became known that the commission investigating the appropriation was biased. So, one of its members, Ehtiram Karimov, is the director of Khatai Aesthetics Clinic, where Veliyeva is also the founder.

Other members of the commission were also Veliyeva"s employees, although it was alleged that all of them were allegedly invited from outside.

In addition, from the Lyceum"s account, 31,800 manats was transferred to the accounts of Ehtiram Karimov and Gulnara Karimova as payment for legal services. However, these funds are included in the amount allegedly appropriated by the accused.

Therefore, the lawyers petitioned to summon Ehtiram Karimov to court. However, the court did not grant the petition, which provoked the protests of the accused.

"So, then let the verdict be announced immediately, why bring us here in vain, or anyway, conduct any investigation?" Tural Mammadov said.

And Farahim Mohbaliyev accused the court of executing the order. "I will kill myself, and you will be guilty first of all. You can"t be so unfair," he said.

The prosecutor proposed to complete the judicial investigation. The lawyers did not agree. The process will continue on October 2.

* As noted in the indictment, in April-October 2018, 1 million 366 thousand manat was paid for training 454 students. However, the chief accountant and the accountant appropriated 564 thousand manats from the indicated amount, without entering them into the reports.

The chief accountant Mammadov partially pleaded guilty, saying that he had taken money for personal needs, but not 564 thousand, but 350 thousand manats. According to him, the founder Veliyeva invited him to take on the full amount, promising not to complain to the police.

"Believing her, I wrote an explanatory and asked to give me 1 year to return the money," Mammadov said in court.

Mohbaliyev pleaded not guilty. -21C-