Trial in the case of media activist Abdulla Abilov

Trial in the case of the active user of facebook, a 31-year-old Abdulla Abilov began in the  Baku Serious Crimes Court. First the prosecutor Ramin Nagdaliyev read the charge.

Abilov was arrested  on November 22, 2013 near his home in the Yasamal district by the employees  of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (DCOC)  of the Interior Minitry.

During the detention of a plastic bag with 2,679 g. heroin were allegedly removed  from his pocket, and 4,677 grams heroin  wee removed allegedly  from a jacket pocket in a rented apartment.

Abilov was prosecuted under Article 234.4.3 (illegal possession or sale of drugs on a large scale), which prescribes penalties of up to 12 years in prison. At trial, the young man said that  he was arrested for political reasons and for active participation in Facebook.

Head of Operative Group that detained Abilov, an employee  of the DCOC, Muzaffar Mamedov said that when police stopped a Abilov and asked if he had any illegal things, Abilov took out of his pocket  a packet of drugs and said  that he "found" it.  Then Abilov said that there was another bag in his house, and police went  hoe with him, and withdrew from another bag jacket. According to investigators, Abilov asked not to disturb relatives, go to the police, and file a report there. Mamedov denied conducting video search, although it is written protocol. Answering the question of lawyer Khalid Bagirov, Mamedov tried to explain that part of the text from other lawsuit was included "accidentally" in the protocol.

The accused himself said that video materials were not included in the deal because they can see that  he did not give  any "voluntary" confession, and it is obvious that  it was a political order, because the investigators were interested in its activities to Facebook.

"They did not ask me anything about drugs. They were interested in my relationships with Ali Kerimli and Jamil Hasanli," said Abilov. Asking the question  of the lawyer why the notebook was withdrawn  and how it is connected with drugs, none  of the employees of the DCOC could give a clear answer.

The lawyer  Bagirov pointed to the identity of the testimonies by  witnesses during the preliminary investigation. At the same time , he cited the testimony of two detectives  of DCOC Emin Safarov and Ceyhun Imamverdiyev that word for word repeated to each other.

During speeches by  witness mother  of the accused Nurjahan Abilov entered the court room  with Koran in  her  hands, and demanded that witnesses swore on the Koran that they will tell the truth. However, the judge asked the guards to evict the old woman , but she refused , and the judge had to announce break.

During his speech of  another  employee of the DCOC, Ibrahim Kazymov, a tall strong man,  Abilov said that this man was not during the search, but he  beat  Abilov  in the DCOC  demanding to make confession. Kazymov denied it and could not answer the questions  from the lawyer and defendant.

Attempts of  the judge to make the witness "remember" details caused discontent in the hall. Journalist Khadija Ismayilova  said about it, but was evicted form  court hall. Another witness from the Narimanov district was invited  for operational activities in the Yasamal  district.

 A witness answering the question  of the lawyer , said that  he works in the "Eastern Bazaar" , but could not really explain  in what part of it. In this case, the judge once again acted as a "translator" , saying "maybe he is shy to talk about his work, he is a cleaner." The witness also failed to describe Abilov’s flat. The trial will continue on May 1. The  human rights defender , Abilov, is  persecuted for creating a Facebook page called "Stop sycophants." After the arrest of a young man , this page was closed. -16C06 –