Yagublu's sentence remains unchanged

The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan dismissed the cassation appeal of opposition politician Tofig Yagublu. Domestic appeal mechanisms have been exhausted, and his defense intends to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, Azerbaijani opposition politician Tofig Yagublu has been placed in solitary confinement. His daughter attributes the punishment to her brother's participation in a protest in Washington, D.C., outside the hotel where the Azerbaijani president was staying. In protest, Yagublu went on a hunger strike. On March 2, his family reported that his health had noticeably worsened. By March 10, Yagublu had lost 10 kilograms but refused to end the protest. On March 12, he fainted. On March 20, at the request of his family, he ended his hunger strike.

On April 2, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan, presided over by Judge Ilgar Gylyjov, announced the decision in Yagublu's case. However, the politician himself was not brought to court, Yagublu's daughter, Nigar Hazi, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"As expected, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan dismissed my father's cassation appeal. This was not an objective or fair trial; Judge Ilgar Gylyjov merely carried out a political order received from the presidential administration," Hazi stated.

She declared Yagublu innocent.

"Everything written in the indictment is nonsense." If my father had actually promised to "get a visa" to someone, and there was even the slightest evidence of this, the country's television channels would have long ago aired "exposés." All the accusations against my father, as in previous cases, are absolute lies. This is already known throughout the world. It's symbolic that on the eve of the Supreme Court's decision, a 45-page report by an international organization for fair justice was published, analyzing the criminal case against my father and his trial. This authoritative organization found that the case against my father was not based on credible evidence, and that the investigation and trial were conducted with violations. In fact, four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated against my father. "The criminal case against my father and the verdict are simply the authorities' revenge for his unwavering political and human will to freedom," Hazi said.

Lawyer Nemat Kerimli told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that after the Supreme Court's decision, all national appeal mechanisms have been exhausted and the defense will now appeal to the ECHR.

In his opinion, at least four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights have been violated in Yagublu's case: Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 5 (right to liberty and security of person), Article 6 (right to a fair trial), and Article 18 (limits on the use of restrictions on rights).

The Supreme Court confirmed the dismissal of Yagublu's appeal; representatives of the prosecution were unavailable for comment.