Summary: Hearing 4 (January 21)
Ø Defendant Samir Mustafayev testified that he did not participate in the beating of Rasim Aliyev and pleaded not guilty;
Ø Rasim Aliyev’s mother asked the court to hand down the heaviest possible sentences to the accused.
Baku Grave Crimes Court, chaired by judge Eldar Ismayilov, continued the hearing on the criminal case launched into the murder of the former IRFS chairman, journalist Rasim Aliyev, who died in the hospital after a brutal beating in August of 2015.
Defendant Samir Mustafayev’s testimony:
Samir Mustafayev pleaded not guilty and said that he did not know the other defendants.
“I was at home. My friend Parviz called me and said that his cousin Elshan was coming to Bayil to meet with someone in front of the Bayil market, but did not know where that market was. Parviz asked me to show Elshan where the market was located. I asked what was going on, and he said they would meet with someone and have tea. I agreed and went. I met with Elshan Ismayilov and Kanan Madatov not far from Bayil market. Arif Aliyev and Jamal Mammadov were going ahead. We reached Bayil market and I told them that we had arrived and that they could call the person they were meeting to say they were in front of the market. I once again asked what was going on, and they said they were meeting someone to have tea. A few minutes later Rasim Aliyev arrived. They fought. I went over, reached out to Rasim Aliyev and lifted him off the ground. After that Rasim Aliyev ran away. We also ran away. I left the place together with the other persons. We prayed in Bibiheybat mosque and then I left them,” Samir Mustafayev said in his court testimony.
As Samir Mustafayev’s court testimony was inconsistent with the statement he had provided to investigators, the judge read out his first statement. “On 8 August 2015, at around 15.00-16.00, when he [Samir] was in Bayil settlement, Elshan called him and said that he was in Bayil and needed to find the Bayil market. He [Samir] met with Elshan to show him the place he was looking for. Elshan had come with Arif, Kanan and Jamal, whose names he [Samir] learned later but whom he had not known earlier. From what Elshan recounted, he [Samir] learned that Elshan had talked to a person by name Rasim on the phone regarding the offensive things that Rasim had written about his cousin Javid Huseynov, and as Rasim had sworn at him too, they had agreed to meet in Bayil and have a tea to clear up their argument. Elshan suggested that he [Samir] go to the meeting together with them and he agreed, i.e. he [Samir], Elshan, Kanan, Arif and Jamal went to the front of Bayil market to meet with Rasim,” read Samir Mustafayev’s statement.
Samir Mustafayev said that the investigator had not written the statement correctly, but that he had signed them nonetheless.
Testimony by victim’s legal heir’s testimony:
The late journalist Rasim Aliyev’s mother Teyfura Aliyeva testified in court. “August 8 was a non-working day. Rasim was at home. He woke up late and I prepared breakfast. Someone phoned Rasim, and he went into the corridor. He was fidgeting and speaking nervously. I asked who he was speaking to, but he did not say. Then, there was another call. He talked. This time he talked quietly. I asked again. He said it was the footballer Javid Huseynov. Rasim said Javid Huseynov had made an offensive gesture and that websites had written about it. Rasim said “I shared this news and commented on it. They did not like it. It was Javid who was speaking to me. I told Javid to clarify this issue.”
Then there was another call. There were several more calls. He said it was Javid’s cousin. Rasim told Javid that the boy who had called him swore at him. Javid told Rasim that the boy would apologize. Javid and Elshan called 6-7 times. Rasim said he could not leave home. It was Elshan and Javid who tricked Rasim into leaving home. A little later I heard about what happened to Rasim. I called him, but his phone was switched off. The people nearby said that Rasim was clutching his head and chest and that they had taken Rasim’s phone and wallet after beating him. Then I received a call and told that Rasim was in the hospital. We went to the City Clinical Hospital #1. A doctor called Babak told me, “Do not worry. He has 4 fractured ribs, but it is not a displaced fracture.” He said nothing had happened to the internal organs or lungs. Then he examined his skull and said there was no injury. As for his ear, he said that unless there was a doctor, he would examine it the next day. Then he placed an IV drip. I believed what the doctor said. But the doctor deceived us. I left the hospital at 23.00. Rasim’s friend stayed with him. When I was at home, I talked with Rasim. He said “Mom, Javid had come with his manager.” At first, Javid told Rasim that Elshan was not his cousin, but then confessed. Rasim also said that they had removed the IV drip. At around 1.00am, Dr. Babak called me and said they were taking Rasim into surgery. The doctor said Rasim was vomiting blood. I headed straight for Rasim’s ward as soon as I arrived at the hospital. The nurse told me that Rasim had vomited and his blood pressure had fallen and they had taken him into surgery. I went to the surgical department. At the entrance to the intensive care room, I came across Drs. Saday and Babak. Saday told me, “Rasim is in a critical condition. His rib has perforated his lung and his pancreas has been injured. He has received a transfusion of 1.5 liters of blood.” The doctor said the operation was over. When I was in the intensive care room, Rasim’s eyes were half open and he was on a resuscitator. They took me out of the intensive care room. Rasim could not have been operated in a half hour. I did not see traces of surgery on Rasim’s body,” said the late journalist’s mother in her testimony.
At the end of her speech, Teyfura Aliyev asked the court to hand down the heaviest punishment possible to Elshan Ismayilov, Jamal Mammadov, Kanan Madatov, Samir Mustafayev and Arif Aliyev, who stand accused of causing Rasim Aliyev’s death.
The next court hearing was set for January 26, 10.30am.