Taleh Bagirzadeh about Outrages in Kurdakhani Jail

At the trial of the "Nardaran case" in the Baku Court of Grave Crimes held October 21 the accused leader of the Muslim Unity movement Taleh Bagirzadeh reported on "arbitrariness" in the Kurdakhani jail.

"Today, when I was taken out of the cell, I saw 5-6 people beaten and insulted. They were even tortured, as if there are no laws in this state. We are there in enemy captivity," he said.

Torturing people is incompatible with humanity, he added and urged the judge to apply to the relevant bodies to stop the lawlessness in jail.

Another accused Abbas Huseynov said he himself was tortured by the police, resulting in swelling on his head. In medical institutions of the Ministry of Justice there was no device to determine the origin of this swelling. The expert refused to fix the tumor on Huseynov's head.

Bagirzadeh for his part said his nose was broken. "The expert refused to fix a fracture in my nose. I said my nose was broken and I could not breathe. And he asked how I knew it was broken," he said.

According to the lawyers, the defendants' statements give reason to doubt the conclusion of the examination.

Next the testimony was made by six employees of the Sabunchu police. They testified on the events of November 5, when the faithful came to the Sabunchu police to clarify the fate of the detained Akhund of the Hazrat Abbas mosque Elchin Gasimov.

The accused were angered by the police officers' allegations that the believers used physical force and allegedly edged weapons were found on them.

Bagirzadeh accused police arbitrariness and said they are confident in their impunity, and therefore commit lawlessness. "Ilham Aliyev said he would not punish the police whatever happened. The fact that police stations are a place of torture is known to all. But be aware, if Aliyev is your support, the support of Allah is for us," said Bagirzadeh.

However, the judge Alovsat Abbasov made a remark to him that he should not mention the President's name.

And Abbas Huseynov condemned the Milli Majlis for discussion how to suppress religious freedom instead of really pressing problems. In his view, behind this there is the President. But the judge said he could not interfere in the work of the Parliament.

The hearing will continue on October 24.

In the course of a special operation in Nardaran on November 26, 2015 six people were killed in the crossfire, including two policemen. Total in this case about 70 people are involved, mostly members and supporters of the movement Muslim Unity. They are accused on a number of articles of the Criminal Code of an attempt to forcibly change the constitutional system, the creation of an organized armed criminal group and others.

Currently, the Serious Crimes Court in Baku holds the trial of 18 accused in the case. Among them is the Deputy Chairman of PFPA Fuad Gahramanli, who is accused of anti-state calls, inciting religious hatred, and calling for riots. In fact, Gahramanli just wrote an appeal to the Nardaran residents on his Facebook page, urging them to defend their rights. ----36S06--