14 September 2016, 17:54
Court refuses to release from custody Bairam Mamedov, activist of "Nida"
On September 14, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA), chaired by Judge Mirpasha Guseinov, considered the appeal against the extension of the pre-trial restriction measure against Bairam Mamedov, an activist of the movement "Nida".
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 10, Giyas Ibragimov, a Facebook user, and Bairam Mamedov, an activist of the movement Nida (Outcry), were detained in Baku on charges of drug trafficking. According to members of the movement "Nida", Bairam Mamedov and Giyas Ibragimov were detained after the appearance of graffiti on the monument to Geidar Aliev in Baku. The defence report that both defendants plead not guilty and claim making confessions under torture.
Photos of the monument of Geidar Aliev in the park in central Baku with inscriptions on its pedestal were disseminated on May 10 in social networks on the Internet and some online editions. The inscription in the Azerbaijani language read: "Qul bayramınız mübarək!" (Congratulations on the slaves' holiday!). This was wordplay with the phrase "Congratulations on the Day of Flowers!" This day is marked annually on May 10, the birthday of former president Geidar Aliev. On the other side of the pedestal, it was written in English: "Fuck the system!" Later, the inscriptions were erased.
"The Baku Court of Appeal held a formal hearing. They failed to listen to our arguments concerning unjustified delays in the investigation and the violation of the Bairam Mamedov's right to freedom and security of person guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Elchin Sadygov, the advocate of Bairam Mamedov.
According to the advocate, the BCA "even failed to ask the investigating body, why no elementary investigative measures, including confrontation questioning of Bairam Mamedov and field investigators and witnesses, still had not been conducted, although since May, Bairam Mamedov was being kept at the SIZO (pre-trial prison)."
The advocate has emphasized that the defence will appeal against the violation of the Bairam Mamedov's rights to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
