Appeal Court Upholds Verdict Against Fazil Gasimov

Fazil Gasimov

The proceedings in the case of Fazil Gasimov, a doctoral student at Istanbul University who was sentenced to 9 years in prison in Azerbaijan on charges of counterfeiting money, concluded at the Baku Court of Appeals (BCA) on September 29.

The Court of Appeals did not grant the appeal and upheld the verdict without change, the economist's relatives reported.

Gasimov intends to file an appeal (cassation complaint) with the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan.

In August 2023, the economist Fazil Gasimov was detained in Turkey and delivered to Azerbaijan, where he was arrested on charges of manufacturing counterfeit money. Gasimov himself considers his criminal case to be revenge for materials on corruption in Azerbaijan he prepared jointly with Gubad Ibadoglu. There was another accused in the case, Anar Aliyev, who testified against Gasimov. In March, the court sentenced him to 9 years in prison.

Politician and economist Gubad Ibadoglu was arrested in July 2023 and charged with currency smuggling and calls for extremism. In April 2024, Ibadoglu was transferred to house arrest, and subsequently, to police surveillance.