On August 28, the Baku Court of Appeal heard the human rights defender Rasul Jafarov’s appeal against dismissal of his request for replacement of detention by house arrest.
In an interview with the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) after the hearing, the lawyer Fariz Namazli noted that by appealing the human rights defender does not intend the hide from the investigation or influence it, since Jafarov returned to the country knowing that he was going to be arrested.
“Rasul Jafarov voluntarily presented the requested documents to the investigation, complied with the summons and answered the questions that interested the investigation. We noted these in court, but despite of it, the court did not grant our appeal and upheld the order on detention of Jafarov,” the lawyer added.
Background: Rasul Jafarov was arrested on August 2, and was charged with illegal business activity, tax evasion and abuse of official powers. The court ordered his pretrial detention.
Amnesty International has recognized Jafarov as a “prisoner of conscience”.