The principle of publicity of the court violated at the trial in the case of Salayev

Baku/06.07.23/Turan: A preparatory trial on a complaint against the verdict of an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Zamin Salayev was held today at The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA).

The hearings on the merits are scheduled for July 13.

The principle of publicity of the court has been violated, a lawyer Nemat Kerimli told Turan. So, journalists were not allowed to attend the  trial. The court ignored the request of the defense which drew the attention of the judicial staff to the violation of the journalist's right to receive information and the principle of publicity of the court. In this case, the lawyers challenged the composition of the court. However, the challenge was also not satisfied.

Thus, as the lawyer noted, "once again in the case of Salayev, the principle of justice of the court was violated."

Another lawyer, Fahraddin Mehdiyev, also pointed out a violation of the principle of transparency and fairness of the court. According to him, the defense petitioned to change the preventive measure against Salayev and transfer him to house arrest. However, the petition was also not granted.

The lawyer also pointed out that after a 105-day hunger strike, Salayev still has serious health problems.

*Zamin Salayev was detained on February 7, and the next day the Garadagh court arrested him on charges of hooliganism with the use of weapons (Article 221.3 of the Criminal Code). Since his detention, Salayev has been on a hunger strike demanding his release. On May 22, the court sentenced him to 4 years in prison. On June 1, on the 115th day of the hunger strike, he stopped the action after giving him assurances that the Court of Appeal would objectively consider his complaint.

The US Embassy in Baku called on the authorities to release Salayev and other political prisoners.---16B06---