January 15, Baku Court of Grave Crimes held its preliminary hearing on the case of the human rights activist Rasul Jafarov.
A double metal cage was installed in the court room to prevent people from approaching Rasul Jafarov who was kept inside during the trial.
Jafarov’s lawyer, Fariz Namazli filed a motion to suspend the court proceedings due to lack of evidence. The motion was rejected. To this, Namazli offered to provide additional documents proving Jafarov’s innocence.
Jafarov’s lawyer requested the replacement of detention with a house arrest now that the investigation is complete. However this motion along with others was too dismissed by the public prosecutor.
Next hearing is scheduled for January 27.
Rasul Jafarov, is the coordinator of Art for Democracy project. He was arrested on August 2 and charged with abuse of power, forgery, and embezzlement. He is also one of the authors of the report on political prisoners. His name was added to the list following his arrest.
Amnesty International named Jafarov prisoner of conscience.
