The Baku Court of Appeal, at the request of the defense, returned the case of the head of Kanal-11 Teymur Kerimov to the first instance due to distortions in the minutes of the court hearings. The hearing on the appeal was postponed indefinitely.
The director of the YouTube project Kanal-11 Teymur Kerimov was arrested on December 12, 2023, on charges of repeated extortion by threats in order to seize property in a significant amount. Then, Kerimov was also charged with extortion by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. Kerimov denied all charges and linked the criminal prosecution to his journalistic activities.
The trial of Teymur Kerimov began in the Baku Court of Appeal on April 10, said lawyer Nemat Kerimli.
The trial minutes are full of distortions and falsifications
The defense petitioned to return the case to the court of first instance “due to numerous distortions and falsifications in the trial minutes,” the lawyer said.
“The trial minutes do not reflect the statements and actions of the participants in the process. They are full of distortions and falsifications. Thus, while the victim, the director of the Child Development Center, Leyla Almaszade, said in court that she did not give money to Teymur Kerimov, the minutes say that she paid the journalist to delete the video about this institution. It is also alleged that Almaszade said that she did not give permission to film in the courtyard of the children’s center. However, she did not say this, and by law the journalist should not have asked for permission. Such permission is only necessary when filming strategic facilities. Almaszade stated in court that she has no claims against the journalist,” the lawyer said. In fact, Karimli continued, Almaszade stated that she paid the money to the child’s parent, who demanded compensation for the fact that her son caught a severe cold due to the negligence of the institution’s educators, and Kerimov only showed a story about the parent’s complaint.
In addition, according to him, the protocol falsely indicated that a CD with video evidence against Kerimov was viewed, while this did not happen. Along with this, the lawyer continued, the court’s verdict did not indicate the evidence presented by the defense.
The Court of Appeal granted the petition and returned the case to the Baku Court of Grave Crimes to correct the protocols based on audio and video recordings of the court hearings. In this regard, the trial in the appellate instance was postponed indefinitely.
A court employee confirmed the information about the return of Teymur Kerimov’s case to the Baku Court of Grave Crimes to correct the protocols. Representatives of the prosecution were not available for comment.