> Ilgar Aliyev’s 12-year jail sentence was reduced by 6 months.
On 28 April, Baku Court of Appeal heard the appeal filed by NGO Chairman Ilgar Aliyev, who has recently been imprisoned on illegal business and other charges, against his judgment. Ilgar Aliyev’s appeal was partly granted at the hearing chaired by Judge Jamal Ramazanov. The first instance court’s judgment on Aliyev was revised, and his 12-year jail sentence was reduced to 11 years and 6 months.
Background: According to the indictment, Ilgar Aliyev was detained by the officers of the State Security Service for bringing a secret camera and cold steel into Azerbaijan in an illegal way. During an inspection, 7 pieces of metal knives of various sizes and shapes, 1 piece of five-pointed, acute-angled and star-shaped item, 1 piece of camera-equipped pen and 1 pair of camera-equipped glasses, which had not been orally declared or presented in writing for customs processing in advance, were found, documented and seized from among the personal items in Ilgar Aliyev’s suitcase. In his statement, Aliyev presented himself as the chairman of Yeni Sabah (New Tomorrow) NGO and noted that he had bought the items at a shop in Pattaya, Thailand.
However, Baku Grave Crimes Court convicted Aliyev under Articles 179.3.2 (misappropriation or squandering, in a large amount), 192.1 (illegal business), 228.4 (illegal possession of a weapon), 302.3 (illegal production or selling of technical means designed for secret collection of information, or purchase of such products with an intent to sell), 308.2 (abuse of official powers) and 313 (service forgery) of the Criminal Code, and sentenced him to 12 years in jail.
Recall that, Ilgar Aliyev had already served a jail sentence before his recent conviction. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison by Nizami District Court in 1996 and was released under amnesty in 2001.