Expert opinion on Tofig Yagublu’s arrest​

Yesterday, the Baku City Main Police Department and the Baku city Prosecutor General’s Office issued a joint statement on Tofig Yagublu’s arrest. According to the statement, on 22 March 2020 at around 3 pm Tofig Yagublu while starting to move to the left side, by breaching the rules of manoeuvring, from parking position with his own car so called “Toyota Corolla” with licence number 90-CU-515 collided with the car “VAZ-2107” with licence number 90-HA-028 driven, based on warrant of attorney, by Jabrayilov Elkhan Sattar oglu on the address of Baku, Nizami district, Nakhchivanski street no. 61.

First it should be paid attention to the fact that before the collision with the said car, Tofig Yagublu got his wife and another relative off the car very near the “8th Kilometre Bazaar” for shopping and himself waited for them in his parked car. “Who do you trust in?” In person, I trust in Tofig Yagublu. The reason is that, why he had to move the car and “to manoeuvre” as described in the statement as he had already parked it and was waiting for his relatives who had gone shopping.​

​ In the joint statement, it is also noted that there are reasonable doubts that Tofig Yagublu made deliberate actions roughly breaking a social order, expressing obvious disrespect for a society, namely he insulted E.Jabrailov and beat him up with punches on his head and with screwdriver around his right shoulder so that injured him; he also injured E.Jabrayilov’s wife by pushing her away.

However, T.Yagublu said he didn't do anything against them, unlike, they aggressively behaved with him. Who do you believe in? I believe in T.Yagublu’s version. Not only because I know him well and he is very unflappable and self-controlled person but also because T.Yagublu’s wife and his relative saw the Jabrayilovs couple unharmed (Tofig’s relatives has not been questioned), but also because Tofig was expecting a provocation against himself, but also because numerous unlawful and arbitrary decisions of law enforcement agencies on criminal cases in which the circumstances have been distorted have been revealed, in particular by the European Court of Human Rights. By the way, European Court have found the violation of Tofig Yagublu’s rights in the previous criminal case as a result of which he had been convicted and the European Court issued three judgments in favour of Ilgar Mammadov who were convicted along with T.Yagublu on the same criminal case. It is also important that it seems from the video disseminated on social media “VAZ-21074” was moving slowly, but it took a speed once he was approaching Tofig Yagublu’s car.

Even imagine that miracle happened and any extraordinary force made T.Yagublu to attack Jabrayilovs couple. Where is its evidence? Where are the recordings of video-recorder installed in T.Yagublu’s car? Where are the recordings of security cameras installed around the accident scene.

Besides, why didn't the prosecutor and judges hearing request and submission on T.Yagublu’s arrest know that battery, physical harm, destroying property and other similar acts committed in the course of quarrel and fight initiated by the victim were not considered as hooliganism? Once more, injuries (if any) inflicted on the personal basis cannot be regarded as actions roughly breaking a social order, expressing obvious disrespect for a society.

There are lots of interesting points in this case. It is said that during the crime scene examination a screwdriver with the like-blood stains and a torn jacket with like-blood stains belonging to E.Jabrayilov revealed and taken as material evidence. It is claimed that E.Jabrayilov’s​ jacket was not on him but revealed on the spot. If this is true then how E.Jabrailov endured the cold weather without a jacket.​ ​

As for the screwdriver, even imagine that it was not set up on the spot but used by T.Yagublu and imagine that T.Yagublu’s actions has to be qualified as hooliganism, then his action had to be qualified with 221.1, which envisages to be punished by a fine, corrective works for the term up to one year, restriction of freedom for the term up to one year, imprisonment for the term up to one year.

That is to say, it will be too difficult to substantiate three-month pre-trial detention of T.Yagublu to the international community.