Defence urges court to acquit all defendants in "Nardaran case"

The inquiry and the trial of 18 religious activists, accused of the riots in the Azerbaijani settlement of Nardaran, were biased, the defendants' guilt was not proved; therefore, they should be acquitted, their advocates have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Talekh Bagirzade, the leader of the movement "Muslim Unity", and 17 his supporters are accused of organizing riots in Nardaran in the course of a special operation on November 26, 2015. Then, seven persons were killed there, including two law enforcers.

Today, Yalchin Imanov, the advocate of Talekh Bagirzade, said that the prosecutor, while demanding long prison terms for the defendants, referred to "the proofs not investigated by the court," in particular, the decision to conduct a special operation in Nardaran on November 26, 2015.

Bagirzade himself expressed his dissatisfaction with the judge's ruling, accusing him of "fulfilling a political order". He treated the prosecutor's words that his sermons "contained anti-state calls" as a lie.

He also expressed confidence that the trial is controlled by the MIA and personally President Ilham Aliev.

Initially, the court tried to formally observe the procedural norms, but then ceased to do it, said Fuad Gakhramanly, another defendant, Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

The advocate Abil Bairamov has stated that his client Zakir Mustafaev was tortured.

Nemat Kerimli, the advocate of Fuad Gakhramanly, has noted that investigators failed to establish who has killed two policemen during the special operation.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.