Not issuing expert opinions to Gyulalyev's family is illegal – expert

Baku/11.02.21/Turan: Representatives and the lawyer of the human rights activist Ogtay Gyulalyev, who fell into a coma after an accident, are not given the results of a forensic medical examination. Based on these very conclusions, the Nasimi district prosecutor's office refused to initiate a criminal case against the doctors who treated the activist after the accident.

After the family turned to Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev, the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case was canceled and the Nasimi District Prosecutor's Office was instructed to re-investigate the case, told Gyulaliyev’s relatives.

On 25 January, Investigator Asiman Hajiyev, who was again entrusted with the investigation, received Gyulalyev's family members and presented a copy of the decision to terminate criminal proceedings against doctors. When asked to issue a forensic medical examination report, he offered to write a statement addressed to the prosecutor of the Nasimi district. Such an appeal was written right on the spot, but the conclusion was not issued again.

On February 3, at a meeting with the investigator, the lawyer Fuad Agayev, again requested an expert opinion. However, the investigator stated that he could not do this, referring to the instructions of the district prosecutor.

“The investigator and the prosecutor violate the law by refusing to provide copies of the forensic medical examination reports to the victim’s family and the lawyer,” said Agil Laidj, a legal expert, member of the Bar Association, commenting on the situation at the request of Turan.

According to him, the investigating authority must provide the parties with all documents after a decision is made to refuse to initiate a criminal case, to terminate a criminal case or to send it to court. "If the family is recognized as a victim, all documents must be sent to them, and if not, to a lawyer. This is an integral part of the right to access documents, as well as the right to a fair trial. Although the right to a fair investigation applies to the court, this also applies in if the documents are not presented, this is a serious violation of the Criminal Procedure Code, "the expert emphasized. The Prosecutor General's Office was not available for comment.

Oktay Gyulalyev was hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing in central Baku on October 29, 2019. He was taken to the hospital, but he was operated on only on October 30 in a private clinic by surgeons of the Republican Neurosurgical Hospital.

On January 25, the Nasimi District Court of Baku sentenced driver Kanan Abdullayev, who caused serious damage to the health of human rights activist Ogtay Gyulalyev, to 2 years 3 months in prison with serving his sentence in a colony-settlement. The court found him guilty under the Article 263.1.-1 (violation of the rules of the road and the operation of vehicles, which inadvertently entailed serious harm to the health of the injured person) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. In addition, Abdullayev was deprived of his driving license for three years. —06B-