Azerbaijan: oppositional party leader sentenced again for slander

A court in Baku has sentenced Ali Aliev, the chairman of the oppositional "Citizens' and Development" Party, to five months in custody after finding him guilty of defamation under the lawsuit lodged by Ramin Adilov, a border guard.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ali Aliev, the chairman of the above Azerbaijan oppositional party, was brought under a private criminal accusation of defamation. The lawsuits were filed separately by two border guards – Colonel Emil Djafarov and Captain Ramin Adilov, the border guards, who survived the helicopter crash that occurred on November 30, 2021. On January 13, 2022, based on Djafarov's law suit, the court sentenced Aliev to five months in prison. Politicians and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, as well as international organization, treated the case as a "political order" and demanded to release the oppositionist.

On April 15, the Yasamal District Court considered the complaint of the border guard, Ramin Adilov, the advocate, Djavad Djavadov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The defence insisted on terminating the criminal proceedings on acquittal grounds, since Aliev's statements fit into the freedom of expression guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitution of Azerbaijan.

Besides, the defence pointed out that, according to the universal principles of the law, a person cannot be re-convicted for the same criminal offense imputed to him.

However, the court has rejected the defence's arguments and imposed a new sentence on Aliev in the form of a five-month-long custody. By a partial summation of the first and second sentences, Aliev was sentenced to a total of six months in prison, that is, his current arrest was extended by another month, the advocate Djavadov has explained, adding that the defence intends to challenge the sentence.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 16, 2022 at 00:43 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.