Ilham Aslanoglu (Tahmazoglu), a lawyer and activist engaged in the public investigation of the “Tartar case”, was sentenced to six months of imprisonment by the Yevlakh region court on June 9. He was found guilty under Article 148 (insult) of the Criminal Code.
His lawyer Huseyn Abbasov informed Turan about it. According to him, Aslanoglu was convicted on the basis of a complaint filed under private criminal charges by citizen Egyana Alekperova.
The lawyer noted that the trial began on May 10, and total four sessions were held. “During the process, none of our motions, neither Aslanoglu’s nor mine, were granted,” the lawyer said.
The prosecutor saw insults to her address during a live broadcast on youtube channel AzerFreedom TV. Linguistic expertise gave an opinion against the defendant. The court did not satisfy the motion for re-examination, because the defense argued that there was no insult which is evident from the content of the interview:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTATyHE4i_gfY2l18qIyi-Q/videos
Aslanoglu is known for exposing tortures of military and civilians in the infamous “Tartar case” and for publishing interviews with the victims.
It should be remembered that more than 25 people were convicted of treason charges in this case. However, in December 2021, the General Prosecutor’s Office reopened the investigation following protests by relatives and friends of those convicted, as well as the public.
Previously, Aslanoglu had already been convicted due to the Terter case allegations. On January 28, the Yevlakh region court found him guilty under Article 147.2 (slander of a felony) and sentenced him to five months of imprisonment.
The plaintiff in the case was Tahir Guliyev, father of Vasif Guliyev who died in the 44-day war. The reason for the lawsuit was Aslanoglu’s claim that Guliyev was involved in the death of senior lieutenant Adyl Sabirli, who was tortured during the 2017 Terter case investigation. In doing so, Aslanoglu referred to A.Sabirli’s father. On appeal, however, the private prosecutor withdrew the complaint and the court released him on March 5.