The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Nasimi District Court in the case of Gyulalyev

Baku/06.12.22/Turan: The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Nasimi District Court on the dissatisfaction of the claim against the actions of the prosecutor's office in the case of human rights activist Ogtay Gyulalyev. The lawsuit was filed by the Gyulalyev family after the Azerbaijani prosecutor's office repeatedly refused to open a criminal case against the doctors involved in the examination and treatment of Gyulalyev.

In December 2021, the prosecutor's office, after a year-long investigation, concluded that the doctors who examined and treated Gyulalyev within a day after the accident were innocent. The activist's family appealed this decision in court. On April 14, the Nasimi District Court of Baku, having considered the complaint, canceled the decision of the prosecutor's office. The court considered that the prosecutor's office had not carried out a sufficient investigation. To re-investigate the responsibility of doctors, the materials were sent to the Nasimi prosecutor's office. However, this body repeatedly refused to initiate criminal proceedings against doctors.

The prosecutor's office did not find signs of "negligence" in the actions of doctors. Referring to the conclusion of the Forensic Medical Examination, the prosecutor’s office considered that “examinations before the surgical operation were carried out in full”, and “the surgical operation was performed correctly from a technical and tactical point of view, in accordance with the clinical protocol” and “intensive resuscitation measures were in line with actual condition of the patient.

However, the activist's family believes that it was the fault of the doctors, who did not provide timely and high-quality medical assistance to Gyulalyev, that he fell into a coma. After he was hit by a car on the evening of October 29, 2019, the human rights activist was brought to Clinical Medicine Center No. 1, he was conscious and his speech was normal.

According to the activist's wife, when he was taken to the city's clinical center, the examination showed that a 3 mm hematoma had formed in the brain. By the morning, the hematoma had expanded to 80 mm. On the evening of October 29, the patient fell into a coma, but all this time the doctors were inactive. However, it is known that in case of an acute subdural hematoma with a volume of more than 35 cm3 and a thickness of more than 10 mm or a mixture of median structures of more than 5 mm, surgical removal of the hematoma is recommended, regardless of the level of wakefulness of the victim.

Mehman Aliyev, director of Turan News Agency, does not agree with the decision of the court and the prosecutor's office.

October 30, 2019. I was in Tbilisi at an event when Ogtay's wife, Firuza, called me at 09.30. She asked for help, claiming that the doctors were not taking any action to save her husband. My telephone conversation took place in the room where the Azerbaijani delegation was present. I was able to get through "upstairs" and asked for help. After some time, the Ministry of Health issued a message that the necessary measures were being taken in connection with Gyulalyev. Doctors of the Republican Neurosurgical Hospital arrived at Baku City Hospital. At about 12:00 the operation began. Subsequently, on the personal instructions of the First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and with the assistance of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Ogtay Gyulalyev was taken to Turkey to the Avrasya clinic, and then to the American clinic in Istanbul. He underwent repeated operations. Turkish doctors were perplexed by the actions of Azerbaijani doctors who did not take prompt measures that they were obliged to take. It should be noted that not only the doctors of the Baku City Hospital are to blame, but also the Clinical Medicine Center No. 1, where Gyulalyev was initially taken in full consciousness, delivered speech and motor functions.

At the trial in the case of the driver Kanan Abdulayev, who hit Gyulalyev, doctors admitted that they had done an MRI of the head immediately after Gyulalyev was admitted to the hospital. A second MRI was supposed to be done at 21.00, but they didn't. This was explained by the fact that the family took Ogtay to Baku City Hospital. But Ogtay was taken out of Clinical Medicine Center No. 1 at about 23:00. At the same time, he was already in a coma and in this state he was admitted to Baku City Hospital, where no action was taken until noon on October 30. The doctors also admitted in court that they had sent the results of Gyulalyev's examination to Baku City Hospital at 12:00 on October 30, when the operation was already beginning by surgeons from the Republican Neurosurgical Hospital.

In this case, there are only two versions of the right to exist: 1. Negligence of the staff of the Emergency Hospital and Baku City Hospital. 2. Deliberate inaction, which should inevitably lead to death. And there are reasons for this. Ogtay Gyulalyev was the first to expose the Terter case, in fact, revealed it. He stubbornly continued to investigate the case, despite the threats that came from the military and law enforcement officers. Gyulalyev's associates in the Committee against Repressions and Torture reported that he was threatened by persons who appear as the organizers of the Terter case,” said Mehman Aliyev.

Ogtay Gulaliyev returned to Baku on November 8, 2020. Is in a state of minimal consciousness. Undergoing treatment at home with the assistance of the Association of Management of Medical Territorial Units - TƏBİB. --0--