The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence of Azer Gasimli.

The Baku Court of Appeals upheld the sentence of political scientist Azer Gasimli, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on extortion charges. The defense insists there is no evidence of Gasimli's guilt and intends to appeal the decision in cassation.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on March 11, a Baku court sentenced political scientist Azer Gasimli, director of the Institute of Political Management, to 12 years in prison. The defendant categorically denied the extortion charge and stated that he was arrested because of his socio-political activities and critical publications. His lawyers called the case fabricated. In the appellate court, Gasimli's defense requested additional questioning of the victim and the summoning of a key witness to the appeal, but the court denied these motions.

On May 25, the Baku Court of Appeal, presided over by Judge Zafar Akhmedov, continued its hearing of Azer Gasimli's appeal against the verdict. At the beginning of the hearing, the convicted man asked to speak from the podium in the courtroom, but the guards brought him to the podium without removing his handcuffs. In protest, he declared that he would speak from a glass cage, the political scientist's wife, Samir Gasimli, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

“Azer, speaking in court, said that law plays no role in his case, but rather two factors: courage and conscience, and this applies to the judges. Azer pointed out that the judges of the Baku Grave Crimes Court were well aware that there was no evidence or witnesses in his case, a fact that became clear during the trial. However, not only did the judges not dare to acquit him, but they also refused to apply Articles 62 (Imposing a more lenient sentence than prescribed for a given crime) and 70 (suspended sentence) of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code and release him. But the judges did not do so. And now the appellate court’s decision will reveal how much courage and conscience the judges of this court possess,” said Samira Gasimli.

According to her, Rovshan Rahimli and Agil Laij’s lawyers asked the appellate court to issue an acquittal. The state prosecutor read the appeal filed by the victim, Gurbanali Yusifov, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan in August 2024. Based on this appeal, an investigation was launched at the Mingachevir City Police Department, but the proceedings were terminated due to a lack of witnesses and evidence.

“Azer, in his reply, asked to speak and pointed out that the prosecutor himself, citing the investigation by the Mingachevir police, acknowledged that due to a lack of evidence and witnesses, the criminal case was dismissed. In other words, the prosecution itself confirms that there is no evidence,” noted the convicted man’s wife.

According to her, after a brief deliberation, the judges announced their decision: to uphold the sentence unchanged.

Lawyer Agil Laic told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent that the defense will file a cassation appeal against the Baku Court of Appeal’s decision. He added that the prosecution’s case is not supported by any evidence. "Azer Gasimli took exclusively legal actions aimed at recovering his funds. Specifically, he filed a civil lawsuit against Gurbanali Yusifov, who himself acknowledged the debt during the trial. At the same time, there is no evidence to support Yusifov's claims that Azer Gasimli threatened him and his family members," the lawyer said.

An employee of the Baku Court of Appeals confirmed to Caucasian Knot that Gasimli's complaint was dismissed. Representatives of the prosecution were unavailable for comment.