On 14 February, Baku Court of Appeal chaired by Judge Mirpasha Huseynov considered an appeal by Nardaran prisoner Jabbar Jabbarov who has been sentenced to 19 years in jail, as reported by lawyer Elchin Sadigov.
The appeal states that Jabbarov was subjected to tortures at the Main Organised Crime Department (MOCD) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The lawyer noted that initially Deputy Prosecutor General Rustam Usubov had declined to launch a criminal case in connection with their complaint. Then, their appeal filed against Usubov’s decision was not accepted by Sabail District Court on 2 February 2017. The appeal currently under review was lodged against Sabail District Court’s decision. “The appeal was not granted. I am now going to submit a complaint to the European Human Rights Court against these severe tortures and the failure to investigate them,” the lawyer stressed.
Background: A special police operation was conducted in Nardaran settlement of Baku on 26 November 2015. Six people, including two police officers, died during the operation. On the same day, Muslim Union Movement chairman Taleh Bagirov and a group of his supporters were arrested. Later, law enforcement agencies reported that a total of 70 people had been arrested. Some of those detained were sentenced to prison terms of 1.5 to 6.5 years on charges of weapon possession. More than 40 of them, however, faced more severe charges, such as coup attempt, terrorism, incitement of religious discord, etc.
The trial of Muslim Union Movement chairman Taleh Bagirzade and 17 other men has been concluded, with Bagirzade receiving a 20-year prison sentence.
The trials of two more groups consisting of 12 people each are underway.