Azer Gasimli Trial: Accuser's Mother Admits Hearsay – These People Witnessed Nothing

Azer Gasimli

The trial of Azer Gasimli, the Director of the Institute of Political Management, continued at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes on November 19. Gasimli has been in custody for almost a year.

During the court session, Salmina Yusifova, the mother of Qurbaneli Yusifov, who is the person making the accusation, gave her testimony as a witness. Prosecutors claim Gasimli used threats to get money from Yusifov. But, Yusifova's testimony had some differences, leading the defense to say there aren't any direct witnesses to the crime.

Witness Testimony and Disagreements

Salmina Yusifova said in court that her son did owe money to Azer Gasimli. She learned about the money issue (around $45,000) during a civil case at the Mingachevir City Court. The court had already decided that her son had to pay Gasimli back.

Yusifova told the court, “We were scared that we would have to sell our house because of this. We only have one house.”

But when the prosecutor asked her about her statement to investigators (where she said Gasimli had threatened her son), Yusifova couldn't give any first-hand information.

The judge asked if she knew what the word threat meant, as it was used in her statement. She said, "I do not."

Azer Gasimli then asked her directly, "Did you see me threaten or scare your son?" Yusifova said, "I did not see it. Qurbaneli told his father, and his father told me."

After this, the judge said, “It seems she doesn't know what the word 'threat' means.”

Defense Questions Evidence

Gasimli’s lawyer, Rovshana Rahimova, pointed out that the prosecution's witnesses (which included the accuser’s mother, father, cousin, and friend) were all repeating what Qurbaneli Yusifov had told them, not what they had seen themselves.

Rahimova said, "No one has said that they saw Azer Gasimli threaten Qurbaneli Yusifov."

The defense asked the court to take these people off the list of evidence, because they didn't see anything themselves. The judge said no for now, because there wasn't enough time.

Case Background

The defense says the charges are made up and come from a business disagreement that became political. According to Gasimli’s wife, Samira Gasimli, the problem started in 2020 with cryptocurrency investments Gasimli made through Yusifov. When Yusifov didn't return the money, a civil court in Mingachevir ruled in Gasimli's favor in April 2024.

The defense says that after the ruling, Yusifov wrote to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, claiming Gasimli was against the government and was trying to recruit him. He said the threats happened after he refused. The local police first closed the case because there wasn't enough proof, but the investigation was reopened, which led to Gasimli's arrest.

Azer Gasimli was arrested in December of last year. He is charged with extortion using violence (Article 182.2.3 of the Criminal Code), which can mean 5 to 10 years in prison. Gasimli says he is innocent and that the case is a way to punish him for his political activities and criticism of the government.

The trial will continue on December 10.