Incident

Home page

Incident

Dispute erupts at trial of Azerbaijani security ministryâ€™s ex-employees - UPDATED

Dispute erupts at trial of Azerbaijani security ministryâ€™s ex-employees - <span style="color: red;">UPDATED

11 January 2017 15:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku’s Sabunchu district court held a hearing on Wednesday in the criminal case involving Major General Akif Chovdarov, former head of the main energy and transport security directorate under the liquidated Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan, and ministry's some ex-employees arrested alongside him.

At the closed-door trial presided over by Chairman of Baku Military Court Habib Hasanov, victim Ilham Khalilov was questioned by a prosecutor.

Khalilov said that Chovdarov took money from him.

Later, witness Adil Yagubov and Chovdarov’s driver Nurkhan Atakishiyev gave testimony.

Yagubov said that what Ilham Khalilov said is wrong, and Chovdarov had not taken money from him. Atakishiyev also said that he hadn’t taken money from Khalilov

In turn, Chovdarov insulted Khalilov for false and baseless testimony.

The trial will be resumed on January 16.

***

15:29

Victims Ilham Khalilov and Elman Salmanov, former Bilajari municipality chairmen, testified in the process, APA reported.

Chovdarov’s attorney Sadiq Rasulov told reporters that Ilham Khalilov’s testimony was contradictory.

“He initially said that he had called Elmar Salmanov and told him that the MNS demands money. But he’s telling the court that Elman called him that the MNS demands money from him. Ilham Khalilov said he had given Chovdarov money on the fourth floor in the ministry’s building. But Chovdarov’s room was on the first floor. Khalilov says he gave the rest of the money in Chovdarov’s office car. But Chovdarov didn’t have an office car. Khalilov told investigators that Chovdarov had threatened him and demanded money from him. But in court he said he had been threatened by Adil Yagubov. Another municipality chairman, Elman Salmanov, also belied Ilham Khalilov. Elman said that Khalilov had said to him, “You’ll get your head sacked if you don’t pay 150,000 manats,” the attorney said.

Elman Salmanov told reporters that Khalilov told him that the MNS demands money and that he paid 150,000 manats for this.

“We had a car, which we sold to pay the money. I didn’t see Akif Chovdarov. Chovdarov asked me in court why I hadn’t informed him. I didn’t say anything because you know it’s not possible to talk every thing about work.

The trial will continue in the second half of the day.

Akif Chovdarov faces charges under Articles 145.3 (illegal deprivation of freedom of a person, causing to the death of the victim or other serious consequences by negligence), 179.3.1, 179.3.2 (embezzlement or waste by an organized group on a large scale), 181.3.1, 181.3.2 (robbery committed by an organized group in order to seize the property on a large scale), 182.3.1, 182.3.2 (extortion, committed by an organized group in order to obtain property on a large scale), 228.4 (illegal purchase, selling or carrying of gas weapon, cold steel, including throwing weapon), 302.1, 302.2 (implementation operative - search actions by not authorized persons, as well as implementation of these actions by authorized persons, but without grounds provided by the legislation, entailed essential, and the same acts committed with use of special means, intended for secret dredging the information), 311.3.1, 311.3.2, 311.3.3, 311.3.4 (bribe-taking by a group of persons on preliminary arrangement, committed repeatedly on a large scale with the use of threats), 313 (service forgery), 341.2.1, 341.2.2, 241.2.3 (abusing authority, excess or inactivity of authority committed by a group of persons, committed with the use of weapons, resulted in grave consequences) of the Criminal Code. The former head of the first department of the ministry’s main directorate Salim Mammadov is charged under articles 145.3, 179.3.1, 179.3.2, 181.3.1, 181.3.2, 182.3.1, 182.3.2, 302.1, 302.2, 311.3.1, 311.3.2, 311.3.3, 311.3.4, 313, 341.2.1, 341.2.2 and 341.2.3; the former head of the second department Akif Aliyev is charged under articles 145.3, 179.3.1, 179.3.2, 181.3.1, 181.3.2, 182.3.1, 182.3.2, 302.2, 311.3.1, 311.3.2, 311.3.3, 311.3.4, 313, 341.2.1, 341.2.2 and 341.2.3; the former deputy head of the first division of the third department Orkhan Osmanov is charged under 145.3, 181.3.1, 181.3.2, 182.3.1, 182.3.2, 302.2, 311.3.1, 311.3.2, 311.3.3, 311.3.4, 341.2.1, 341.2.2 and 341.2.3.

The court ordered seizure on property and cash worth of 33,466,000, trade and service sectors, greenhouses, aquaculture farms and other property complexes, land plots worth of 8,967,000 manats, private houses, apartments and vehicles worth of 24,445,000 manats, jewelry worth of 37,000 manats belonging to the accused persons –- Akif Chovdarov, Salim Mammadov, Akif Aliyev and Orkhan Osmanov to compensate damage caused to the aggrieved persons.