Defence demands re-qualification of Kullar riot case

The defence of the Azerbaijani citizens accused of riots near Kullar has stated that it intends to seek re-qualification of the charges towards mitigation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 15, the protest action in Kullar, where Azerbaijani citizens are waiting for departure to their homeland, escalated into clashes with law enforcers. Four law enforcers and 10 Azerbaijani citizens were injured; 83 protesters were arrested.

Murad Velikhanov, an advocate, told "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that investigators had familiarized the defendants with the results of the examinations: it follows from the forensic medical conclusion, out of the ten law enforcers recognized as victims in the case, most were injured without any harm to their health.

"In fact, their injuries falls under the medical category of 'beatings'; and this is another, softer article of the Russian Criminal Code. The prior qualifying attribute – causing harm that is dangerous to one's life and health – should be cancelled," Mr Velikhanov has explained.

He has added that the examination of the damage caused to policemen's service cars revealed not the earlier claimed 400,000 roubles, but only 38,000 roubles.

"All this will be essential if their guilt is proved by the court, but we intend to achieve their innocence," the advocated has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 19, 2020 at 02:48 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.