Imprisoned public activist Rail Abbasov has been sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in prison. On January 9, a verdict was issued about him at the Baku Serious Crimes Court. The decision was made by a panel of judges led by Mahira Karimova, with Faxri Mammadov and Anar Sadiqov as members.
According to the verdict, Rail Abbasov was found guilty under Article 178.3.2 of the Criminal Code (fraud causing significant damage). He was accused of deceiving a person named Asgar Haziyev by taking money from him under the pretext of selling a house.
However, Rail Abbasov stated in his final word before the verdict was read that the accusation was entirely fabricated and staged. He argued that a fake victim was created from Asgar Haziyev, and he presented evidence during the trial to prove this.
Rail Abbasov also pointed out contradictions in the testimony during his final statement. He said that although Asgar Haziyev claimed to have called him on September 18 and spoken with him, an investigation of the phone records showed that no such call took place. He added that the evidence they presented in court clearly showed that the box he had received from Haziyev contained chocolates, not money.
“Now, the 4 packs of money he mentions aren’t even half the size of those chocolate boxes. The owner of the apartment, a witness named Eldar, also confirmed what I said,” Rail Abbasov stated.
He also noted that under normal circumstances, the court should hold people like Asgar Haziyev criminally accountable for making false statements. However, he claimed that in political cases like his, people like him are used for such purposes.
“This criminal case opened against me today is an opportunity for the judges. As a citizen who has been unjustly imprisoned, I call on the court to make a positive change,” Rail Abbasov concluded his final statement.
After deliberating, the panel of judges returned a few minutes later to announce their decision: Rail Abbasov would be deprived of liberty for 6 years and 6 months.
During his testimony in court, Rail Abbasov referred to himself as the “hostage of his imprisoned friend, public activist Bakhiyar Hajiyev.” He explained that he was framed and imprisoned because of his friendship with Bakhiyar Hajiyev and for defending him.
