At the Baku court, during the trial of political scientist and anti-war activist Bahruz Samedov, the indictment was announced. The indictment is based on Bahruz Samedov’s correspondence with three women from Armenia, the political scientist’s defense noted.
The Baku Court of Grave Crimes continued the consideration of Samedov’s case today under the chairmanship of Judge Elnur Nuriyev, lawyer Zibeyda Sadigova told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. According to her, the prosecutor announced the indictment at the trial, after which the political scientist himself spoke before the court.
“Bahruz Samedov stated that he did not commit a crime. He indicated that he did not work in government agencies, did not have access to classified documents, and had not lived in Azerbaijan for more than six years, and therefore the accusation of treason against him has no basis,” said lawyer Sadigova. She also believes that the prosecution did not provide reliable evidence of Samedov’s guilt in the crime he is charged with. “The charges are based on the correspondence between Bahruz Samedov and three Armenian women. But the content of this correspondence does not contain anything that would constitute the crime of “treason”. As Samedov himself said, he only discussed issues related to his research, as well as ways to peacefully resolve the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the lawyer said.
Article 274 “Treason” of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, which Samedov is charged with, provides for imprisonment for a term of twelve to twenty years or life imprisonment.
On the other hand, according to her, “there is no information in the case that Samedov was given instructions concerning issues of state importance, and that he carried them out.” The lawyer refrained from other comments due to the closed nature of the trial.
An employee of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes confirmed the fact of the hearing in Samedov’s case. Representatives of the investigative body were unavailable for comment.