The appellate court upheld the verdict against Rufat Safarov.
The court in Baku dismissed the complaint of human rights defender Rufat Safarov against the guilty verdict. The defense intends to file a cassation appeal against the verdict of the appellate instance.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on February 16, the executive director of the human rights organization "Line of Defense" Rufat Safarov stated at a court session in Baku that his criminal prosecution was revenge by the authorities for his human rights activities. The prosecution's witnesses, who testified in court on March 16, did not confirm that the victim had approached Safarov to purchase a land plot and had given him money. At the session on April 21, the victim admitted that he had no evidence of handing money to Safarov. The victim's testimony highlighted the weakness of the prosecution's case, the defense pointed out. At the session on May 18, the prosecutor proposed sentencing Safarov to nine years in prison. On June 12, the court sentenced Safarov to eight years in prison.
Rufat Safarov was detained in Baku on December 3, 2024, and then arrested on charges of fraud and hooliganism. According to the investigation, Safarov embezzled 60,000 manats (about 36,000 dollars), which the victim Natig Imanguliyev had given him for the purchase of a land plot and did not get back after the cancellation of the deal. Safarov told the court about a provocation by law enforcement on the day of his detention. According to Safarov, he was attacked in an underground parking lot, after which he grabbed the attacker by the belt and called for a security guard, but a police car immediately appeared, and the human rights defender was detained.
On August 24, a hearing on the appeal against the verdict for human rights defender Safarov took place in the Baku appellate court. The defense requested that the appeal be considered with a repeated partial judicial investigation, a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" who observed the process reported an activist.
In addition, a motion was made to summon three police officers who detained Safarov as witnesses in court. The necessity of summoning the police was due to contradictions in the victim's testimony during the investigation and in the first instance court, the activist explained.
According to a source, Safarov himself was brief. Pointing to the lack of legal grounds for his criminal prosecution and the political motives of the case, the human rights defender noted that he saw no point in a detailed speech.
The court upheld the verdict without changes.
The defense will file a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision of the appellate instance, the lawyer Elchin Sadigov reported.
He pointed to the lack of credible evidence of Safarov's guilt. "The case materials claim that the victim handed Rufat Safarov 60,000 manats (36,000 dollars) for the purchase of a land plot. But there is a procedure for concluding such transactions.
Real estate purchase agreements are officially executed through a notary, and money is transferred through a bank. The buyer first deposits the amount into a bank account, and the buyer can only receive the money after the transaction is approved by the notary. But in this case, there are no documentary or other evidence of the transfer of money, apart from the claims of the victim and the investigative body," Sadigov told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
A staff member of the Baku appellate court confirmed to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" the information about the decision in Safarov's case.
"Caucasian Knot" currently does not have comments from representatives of the prosecution and the victim's side.