Karabakh war veteran and New Azerbaijan Party member Arif Rustamov held a press conference at the International Press Center on what he believes is an unjust decision by the Baku Appeals Court.
The reason for the appeal was that Baku Appeals Court judge Jamal Ramazanov only sentenced the defendants under one charge (Article 221) rather than three (Articles 128 and 132 as well). Public prosecutor Ilgar Hasanoglu did not object to this injustice, and so Rustamov's lawyer Elchin Sadigov filed a cassation appeal.
Rustamov stated that he built a house for his daughter in Hovsan in 2009. In September 2009, Hovsan resident Parvaz Rustamov, his son Rustam Rustamov and a few others tried to extort money from him, claiming that the land where the house was built had belonged to their grandfather. Arif Rustamov paid them 4,000 AZN. The next time, his son paid 1,000 AZN. However, dissatisfied with the payments, the assailants attacked the family, injuring Rustamov, his son and daughter.
Rustamov reported the incident to the police. In April 2011, Surakhani District Court launched a criminal case under Article 221.2.1 of the Criminal Code. Based on this article, Parvaz Rustamov and Rustam Rustamov were sentenced to 1.5 and 3.5 years in jail respectively. Following this, they were given conditional release. Rustamov appealed but the Baku Appeals Court upheld the original ruling.
"Courts in Azerbaijan work in the reverse direction: here the innocent go to jail, and culprits are freed," lawyer Elchin Sadigov commented.
Video Description: ASSAULT VICTIM SPEAKS OUT AGAINST JUDGE AND PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
