The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan does not satisfy the complaint of the former prosecutor

Baku/11.07.17/Turan: On 11 July the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan rejected the cassation appeal of the former investigator of the Prosecutor's Office Rufat Safarov. On January 15, 2016 Safarov was arrested on charges of taking bribes, but after a week released under house arrest. However, in September 2016, he was sentenced by the Lankaran Court for Serious Violations to 9 years in prison. On December 22, the Shirvan Court of Appeal upheld the verdict. The cassation appeal of Safarov was considered in the Supreme Court on July 11 under the chairmanship of Judge Gulzar Rzaeva.

"I have no objection to the composition of the court. Regardless of the composition, the court will follow the instructions of Ilham Aliyev's regime, "Safarov said.

Lawyers Bahruz Bayramov, Yalchin Imanov and Fariz Namazli stated that the former investigator is not guilty. The charges were not proved either at the preliminary investigation or in the court of first instance. They asked the court to stop the criminal case on justifiable grounds and release Safarov from custody.

"The case against Safarov started after he became aware of lawlessness and corruption in law enforcement agencies. There is not a single fact that he received a bribe, there was no special operation. Only on the basis of the testimony of several persons against him began a criminal case. One of the witnesses did not come to court at all, and another gave in the court gave testimony in favor of Safarov, and after a couple of hours under pressure refused to testify. On the way back the witness was stopped, and under police supervision returned to court, forcing him to give up his testimony," said lawyer Bahruz Bayramov.

There is not a single fact proving that Safarov received a bribe, "Yalcin Imanov, a lawyer, said in turn. He recalled that the court of first instance granted Safarov and the lawyer only 15 minutes to prepare for the final speeches. He saw this as a violation of the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Safarov himself also announced the falsification of the criminal case, recalling that the case against him was launched after December 20, 2015 he gave an interview, saying the regime was corrupt.

Nine months while he was under house arrest, there were no investigative actions. When he spoke in defense of ex-health minister Ali Insanov, the investigation was resumed. "I was not given time for the final speech. Even during the Stalinist repression, people were given the opportunity to come forward with the last word," Safarov said.

The state prosecutor spoke in favor of preserving the sentence without treason. The Supreme Court left the verdict unchanged.

Lawyer Bayramov said that a complaint will be sent to the European Court of Human Rights for the decision. Safarov's father Sabiroglu called the verdict "ruthless", saying that the order to arrest his son was personally submitted by Ilham Aliyev.

"I served this power for 20 years and realized that I was mistaken. It's my fault and I admit it," Sabiroglu said. He cursed the country's political leadership for persecuting his son. The former investigator of the Zardob district prosecutor's office Rufat Safarov is the son of Eldar Sabiroglu, one of the founders of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party. In 2015, he made a number of harsh critical statements addressed to the head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev in the media.

* At the same time, Safarov made a number of statements about the violation of lawfulness by law enforcement agencies and announced his resignation from the prosecutor's office. Following this, the prosecutor's office announced the dismissal of Safarov from the bodies "for acts discrediting the employee of the prosecutor's office." -03C06-