Court of Appeal Leaves Youth Activist in Custody

Baku / 18.05.17 / Turan: The consideration of the complaint of the NIDA activist Elgiz Gahraman, who was sentenced to 5.5 years of imprisonment on charges of drug trafficking, was completed in the Baku Appeals Court (BAC) on May 18.

At the beginning of the meeting, at the request of the defense, Gahraman was allowed to sit next to the lawyers, but only 20 minutes later he was removed from handcuffs.

At the same time, the lawyers presented to the judges and the prosecutor a test book, which Gahraman wrote in custody, in support of the fact that this educated young man could not engage in drug trafficking. However, one of the judges Jamal Ramazanov defiantly refused to accept the book.

The lawyer Fariz Namazli called the verdict of the first instance court illegal and not based on evidence.

He noticed that during the search at Gahraman's apartment, they allegedly found two books of the Turkish theologian Fetullah Gulen.

According to the lawyer, at the beginning Gahraman was wanted to be involved in the so-called campaign against Gulen"s movement. But then they decided to stop on drugs.

The lawyer pointed out that there are no signs in the case for bringing Gahraman to responsibility on charges of drug trafficking and his arrest. So, the source of the drugs is not identified, there are no signs of their storage or marketing, and it there is no found material evidence for the commission of drug trafficking.

Further, the lawyer indicated that Gahraman gave the initial testimony under torture when, in violation of the law, he was kept in the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (MDCOC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for six days. Later, Gahraman refused to testify. The lawyer, in view of the above, asked the court to acquit Gahraman.

Another lawyer, Neimat Kerimli, also pointed out the illegality of the verdict of the first instance court, which was not based on evidence.

Gahraman himself said that in 2004 he graduated from higher school in Turkey. He did not have any drugs and Shahlar Jafarov, an employee of the MDCOC, planted them on him.

Gahraman said that Gulen's books were also planted and "found" by police officers. At the same time, Gahraman indicated that one of the books was in Russian, which he does not know.

He also indicated that he was detained on August 12 and could not attend the search at his apartment on August 13, as the investigation alleges. In the MDCOC he was forced to write a statement refusing an appeal against the arrest, he said.

However, the panel after the meeting announced the rejection of the complaint. The defense intends to file a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court.

* Recall that Gahraman was arrested on August 12, 2016 on charges of illicit drug trafficking on a large scale. On January 16, 2017, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to 5.5 years imprisonment.

The NIDA movement stated political motives for the arrest of Gahraman, calling the publication in Facebook the true cause of the arrest. The article included ironic comparison of Ilham Aliyev's son with the prominent state figure, Shah Ismail Khatai.

Gahraman is recognized as a political prisoner by local human rights organizations. -03C06-