VZCZCXRO2452
OO RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHKB #0519/01 0950337
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 050337Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0049
INFO RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000519 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016 
TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV PREL AJ
SUBJECT: CLOSED TRIAL FOR YENI FIKIR ACTIVISTS TO START 
APRIL 5 
 
REF: 05 BAKU 1169 
 
Classified By: DCM JASON HYLAND FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On March 31 Azerbaijan's Court of Grave 
Crimes held the pre-trial hearing for the three Yeni Fikir 
(New Thought) youth group activists accused of plotting a 
violent takeover of the government and engaging in illegal 
entrepreneurship.  The panel of three judges heard arguments 
from the two Yeni Fikir lawyers that as the Prosecutor 
General's office has not shared with them its evidence 
proving the case has enough merits, the case should either be 
dismissed or delayed.  The prosecutor argued that he would 
present the evidence during the trial and advocated that the 
trial be closed due to national security concerns.  After a 
break of five hours, the judges ruled to go forward with the 
trial (scheduled for April 5) which will be closed to all 
parties except the defendants, their lawyers, and witnesses. 
Said Nuriyev, one of the three accused, told PolOff the three 
would likely register their protest to a closed trial by 
first firing their lawyers, with later steps to possibly 
include taping shut their mouths followed by a hunger strike. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) The March 31 pre-trial hearing itself for the joint 
case against Yeni Fikir youth activists Ruslan Bashirli, 
Ramin Tagiyev, and Said Nuriyev lasted approximately one hour 
at the Court of Grave Crimes.  The three are charged with 
plotting a violent overthrow of the government and engaging 
in illegal entrepreneurship.  The last charge, added only a 
month ago, apparently stems from "evidence" discovered that 
the three accepted USD 50,000 from an unnamed embassy without 
reporting the sum.  The GOAJ argues that the three activists 
used this money, in addition to the USD 2,000 Bashirli 
allegedly accepted (reftel) to plot a coup.  Rumors indicate 
that the prosecutor will claim the USD 50,000 came from the 
Norwegian Embassy and the Open Society Institute, although 
the prosecutor has not divulged this information to the 
defense and refused to answer in open court. 
 
¶3. (U) Bashirli's lawyer began by claiming the defense had 
not received a full list of witnesses or a full list of 
evidence.  He stated that, according to the information the 
defense has received from the prosecutor, there is 
insufficient evidence to go forward with the case.  The key 
missing elements include the tape allegedly showing Bashirli 
accepting money from Armenian agents (reftel), testimony or 
reports from the Armenian Secret Service confirming the 
identity or involvement of its agents (the linchpin to the 
coup charge), and the identity of the Embassy that supposedly 
was responsible for funding Yeni Fikir.  The defense argued 
that without this evidence, it is impossible for the lawyers 
to prepare for the case and adequately defend their clients. 
They also said that the absence of these key pieces of 
evidence made it impossible for the prosecution to argue it 
has a case.  According to the defense, access to evidence is 
codified in the procedural code and the court's willingness 
to proceed without accommodating this vital provision is 
illegal. 
 
¶4. (U) The prosecutor in turn argued that it is in the 
process of collecting evidence on the Armenian Secret Service 
angle; as soon as the evidence is collected, it will be 
provided to the defense.  Regarding the identity of the 
embassy supposedly responsible for giving Yeni Fikir USD 
50,000, the prosecutor said he will address this issue during 
the trial, not during the pre-trial hearing.  He further 
stated that he had provided the defense with sufficient 
information and materials and the rest would be presented 
during the trial.  On the issue of the tape, the judge 
decided on the spot that the defense would be able to see the 
tape itself when it is shown in open court.  The judge 
further stated that it was "for the benefit of the defense" 
that the Prosecutor General's Office had not yet shared all 
its evidence. 
 
¶5. (U) Finally, the prosecutor argued that for national 
security reasons, the court should be closed to the public. 
The judge also read two telegram petitions from two of the 
witnesses (the Georgian informants who participated in the 
video, reftel) who requested that the trial be closed to 
ensure their security.  The defense argued that the case did 
not involve state secrets and that most of the evidence, 
including the tape of Bashirli allegedly accepting money from 
Armenians, had already been released by the prosecutor's 
office to the media.  He stated that little was left that had 
not already been made public.  If the evidence did involve 
national security questions, he asked that the prosecutor 
prove those links.  The defense lawyer and each of the 
defendants further argued that the conduct of the trial was 
in the public interest and the trial should be open to 
observers to protect the rights of the defendants. 
 
BAKU 00000519  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) After a five-hour recess, the panel of judges read 
out a decision that granted most of the prosecutor's 
petitions and almost none of the defense's.  The trial will 
be conducted behind closed doors, excluding all participants 
except the defendants, their lawyers, and witnesses.  The 
judges further ruled that sufficient evidence had been 
presented to start the trial on April 5.  According to Said 
Nuriyev, who is not being detained for health reasons and 
therefore the only accessible defendant, the three will 
likely announce soon that they will fire their lawyers in 
protest over the court's decision (a common step in 
Azerbaijan that does not necessarily reflect dissatisfaction 
with the lawyers' performance), followed by taping their 
mouths shut and finally a hunger strike, if necessary.  While 
it was difficult to determine the health condition of 
Bashirli and Tagiyev, Nuriyev (who suffers from chronic 
health problems that prompted his release on bail) appeared 
to have physical strength but had an obvious yellow pallor to 
his face and his eyes were also yellowed. 
 
¶7. (C) COMMENT: While the GOAJ will stress national security 
grounds, a close trial will make it very difficult to ensure 
a fair trial.  We also are very concerned that the defense 
will not be able to access key evidence against the 
defendants.  A closed trial will not allow for independent 
monitors of the process to comment on whether the proceedings 
are fair or not.  However, we will remain in close contact 
with the defendants to follow the proceedings and obtain 
official information to the extent available.  We will 
continue to urge the GOAJ at all levels to conduct a fair 
trial in accordance with international rule of law standards 
and to be as open as possible about the proceedings. 
HARNISH