Elgiz Gahraman Reports Torture

elgiz

Summary: Hearing 3

  • • Elgiz Gahraman said he had been pressured and tortured during investigation;
    • Kamil Mammadov and Mehman Teymurov, employees of the Main Organised Crime Department (MOCD), testified at the hearing as a witness;
    • Lawyer Fariz Namazli lodged a petition asking the court to question MOCD chief of division Karim Alimardanov and chief operative Shahlar Jafarov as an additional witness. The motion was granted.

On December 21, Baku Grave Crimes Court chaired by Judge Azad Majidov held another hearing on the criminal case of NIDA Civic Movement member Elgiz Gahraman.

Elgiz Gahraman testified at the hearing. “I am kept in custody despite being innocent. The reason I am deprived of my liberty is unclear to me. I was pushed into a car and practically kidnapped by three men on my way home from work on August 12. I found out their names at the MOCD. They cuffed my hands behind my back and took me to chief of division Karim Alimardanov’s room. I asked why they were taking me there. They replied that I would understand, soon. There, operative Shahlar Jafarov put drugs into my pocket. They were beating me and demanding that I admit to the drug charges, otherwise threatened to put half a kilogram of heroin in our apartment. Then, they took the key to my office door and brought my computer. They scrutinised my Facebook page. The things on my Facebook page were mainly links to articles about Turkey, as I had studied there. I had shared just one link to an article related to Azerbaijan. The title of the article read “May His Lifetime Resemble His, Not Himself.” In that article, while expressing his opinion on the referendum on constitutional changes, YAP (ruling party) executive secretary Ali Ahmadov had said that Shah Ismail also came to power when he was 14. After my detention, MOCD employees put Said Nursi’s (Muslim theologian) books in my house. They demanded me to write that I am a Fetullah Gulen (Turkish cleric accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt) supporter, sympathised with the coup attempt in Turkey and wanted it to happen in Azerbaijan, too. I refused and they hit me in various parts of my body with a baton 49 times. At MOCD, I was subjected to a lot of humiliating actions. I just do not want to speak about it. I do not know the true reason behind my arrest, but I have some assumptions. The post that I shared did not contain any insult. My friends jokingly call my Elgiz leader. Perhaps, they thought that I am the leader of a big organisation,” Gahraman said.

Next, MOCD officer Kamil Mammadov testified. The witness noted that he had received information about illegal trafficking of drugs by Elgiz Gahraman, and after that, the operation was conducted and Elgiz was detained. Elgiz Gahraman accused the witness of perjury and identified him as one of the men who had beaten him up.

During the testimony of another MOCD officer Mehman Teymurov, Elgiz Gahraman said Teymurov was one of the men who had detained him.

After the questioning of attesting witnesses Rashad Musayev and Tural Rasulov, the youth activist said he had seen them not at the time of arrest, but at MOCD.

Lawyer Fariz Namazli lodged a petition asking the court to question MOCD chief of division Karim Alimardanov and chief operative Shahlar Jafarov as an additional witness. Elgiz Gahraman defended the motion. The motion was granted.

The next hearing was set for 26 December , 2 pm.

Inmate Harms Himself Because of Intolerable Torture

Unable to stand the tortures anymore, an inmate by name Natig Jabbarli has cut his tongue in Prison #13 where he has been serving his sentence – as reported by his father Vagif Jabbarov on December 21.

According to Vagif Jabbarov, his son has been regularly subjected to physical and psychological torture by deputy chief of prison Elchin Alijanov over the past 2 months.

He noted that Natig Jabbarli has been repeatedly beaten up by the deputy chief and placed in the punishment cell during his time in prison. “In the last episode, he was subjected to most horrible torture by Alijanov. Here is the result, he has harmed himself. Natig is in a very critical condition, at the moment. He has been placed in the Treatment Facility of the Penitentiary Service in Baku,” Vagif Jabbarov said.

Previous Post

Nardaran Trial: Hearing Marked by Rejected Defence Motions and an Argument between Parties

Next Post

Appeal Hearing Held for Ganimat Zahid’s Relatives

Start typing to see posts you are looking for.