The prosecutor's office again refused to initiate a case on the responsibility of doctors in the case of Oktay Gulalyev

Baku/11.07.22/Turan: Prosecutor's Office again refused to initiate criminal case against medics in Oktay Gyulaliyiev ku/11.07.22/Turan: The Public Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan again refused to launch a criminal case against medics involved in the examination and treatment of human rights activist Oktay Gyulaliyev.

In December 2021, after a year-long investigation, the Prosecutor's Office concluded that the doctors who examined and treated Gyulaliyev within a day after the accident were not guilty. The activist's family appealed this decision in court. On April 14, the Nasimi district court of Baku, having considered the complaint, reversed the decision of the Prosecutor's Office. The court found that the Prosecutor's Office had not conducted a sufficient investigation. In order to re-investigate the responsibility of doctors, materials were sent to the Nasimi Prosecutor's Office. However, this Office repeatedly refused to initiate a criminal case against the doctors.

This is stated in a letter of investigator Yagub Mammadov, sent to the activist's wife Firuza Gyulaliyeva.

The Prosecutor's Office found no evidence of "negligence" in the actions of doctors.  With reference to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination, the Prosecutor's Office considered that "examinations before surgery were carried out in full" and "the surgical operation from the technical and tactical points of view was performed correctly, in accordance with the clinical protocol" and "intensive resuscitation measures were consistent with the actual condition of the patient.

However, the activist's family believes that it was the fault of doctors, who did not provide Gyulaliyev with timely and quality medical care, that he fell into a coma. When, after the accident, the human rights activist was brought to the City Clinical Center, he was conscious and his speech was normal.

According to his wife, when he was taken to the clinic, the brain haematoma was 3 mm thick.

In the morning the hematoma expanded to 80 mm, the patient fell into a coma, for all that time the doctors of City Hospital were inactive. Only after the intervention of the Ministry of Health specialists from the Neurosurgical Center were sent to the Clinic and they performed the surgery almost twenty-four hours after the accident.

Gyulaliyev's wife said that the family will appeal again against the prosecutor's decision. As for Gyulaliyev's condition, he is still in a coma. "Ogtay was on the mend, he already heard everything, understood, nodded and gave signs. But, a year ago, his feeding tube fell out. When a new tube was inserted into him, medics infected him and his condition rapidly deteriorated. Thus, the previous treatment was negated," Gyulaliyeva said.

According to her, state-funded medical workers have been assigned to help with the activist's care and medical procedures. They stay with the patient from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. They are with him the rest of the time. The rest of the time his family takes care of him.

*Recall that recognized human rights activist Ogtay Gyulaliyev was hit by a car at a crosswalk in the center of Baku on October 29, 2019.

On January 25, the Nasimi District Court of Baku sentenced the driver, Kenan Abdullayev, who caused serious damage to the health of human rights activist Ogtay Gyulaliyev, to 2 years and 3 months of imprisonment with serving his sentence in a settlement colony. The court found him guilty under Article 263.1.-1 (violation of traffic rules and vehicle operation, resulting in serious harm to the health of the victim by negligence) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Besides, Abdullayev was deprived of the right to drive a car for three years. -06B-