Trial of Azerbaijani ministry’s ex-official continues

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes on 21 April 2017 continued the hearings of the criminal case in respect of Vidadi Zeynalov, head of the Office of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan, and others arrested alongside him.

During the trial, accused Emin Mammadov’s attorney read out a letter of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies, noting that Emin Mammadov, Namazali Mammadov, and Sahrab Humbatov have fully paid for the damage caused to the ministry, APA reported.

Zeynalov’s attorney Jeyhun Yusifov said that the indictment’s essence is unclear to them. “I read the indictment 74 times. On page 4 they deny the amount written on page 1,” he noted.

Anar Mustafayev’s attorney Gulshan Salmanova said the amount in the indictment is exaggerated.

Accused Beytulla Huseynov said the testimony he gave during the investigation has been distorted.

“They’ve written on paper whatever they like, rather than my words. They’ve written that I embezzled 10 million manats. Let them prove this amount and I will pay for the damage. They’ve exaggerated the number to such an extent as if I was the minister,” he added.

All the attorneys supported the petition on holding an expertise.

However, prosecutor Farid Naghiyev asked the court to reject the petition.

The court rejected the petition.

The trial will be continued on May 3, 2017.   

This post is also available in: Russian