Azerbaijani political scientist Gasimli denies accusations of extortion and threats
An indictment was announced at the trial of political scientist Azer Gasimli. The political scientist stated that he himself was in fact the victim.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on July 2, the Baku court accepted the case of political scientist Azer Gasimli for consideration on the merits, rejecting most of the defense's motions. The judge agreed to question only two defense witnesses.
On December 8, 2024, the director of the Institute of Political Management Azer Gasimli was detained on suspicion of extortion from a person who owed Gasimli money. The court placed him in custody. The case materials state that the political scientist lent money to Gurbanali Yusifov and his family, demanding that the victim return the borrowed funds.
Yesterday, July 16, at the trial of Azer Gasimli in the Baku Court of Grave Crimes the indictment was announced for the crimes. As the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" was told in court, according to the prosecution's version, Gasimli, "against the backdrop of a drop in his income on the cryptocurrency exchange," "came into a conflict with his acquaintance Gurbanali Yusifov" and, having demanded 45 thousand dollars from him, threatened to kill him and his family members." Ultimately, Gasimli received 6.8 thousand manat (4.1 thousand dollars) from Yusifov, and also forced him to sign a receipt for a debt of 10 thousand dollars to him.
Gasimli was charged under criminal article 18.2.3 (extortion by threats with the use of violence), under which he faces up to 10 years in prison.
As reported by lawyer Agil Laidzh, the political scientist rejected the charges in court. "Azer Gasimli said that he considers himself a victim. He drew attention to the fact that he filed a civil lawsuit against Yusifov, he acknowledged the debt in court, and the Mingachevir City Court ruled in favor of Gasimli. At the same time, the Sheki Court of Appeal did not overturn this decision, but referred it to the commercial court for consideration,” Laidzh told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
The defense petitioned to accept as evidence the correspondence between Gasimli and Yusifov, as well as the minutes of the hearings during the consideration of the civil claim in the Mingachevir Court. “If the court examines this evidence, it will turn out that Azer Gasimli himself became a victim of fraud. However, the court decided that these issues will be considered at the stage of document examination,” the lawyer continued.
Gasimli proposed to question Yusifov in court, but he did not appear in court, so the trial was postponed.
Representatives of the prosecution and Yusifov were unavailable for comment.
Earlier, Gasimli linked the criminal prosecution to his socio-political activities, and called the criminal case fabricated by a political order.
The political scientist's wife said that the arrest "is a political order from the authorities". "Azer is being persecuted for his consistent, sharp criticism of the political regime in Azerbaijan, which suppresses critical voices. Azer criticized the authorities' policy of refusing to cooperate with the international democratic community and rapprochement with authoritarian regimes," Samira Gasimli noted.