Azerbaijani judge gives soldier who raped boy lesser sentence due to ‘suffering from homosexuality’
Novruz Musayev, a resident of Azerbaijan’s exclave Nakhchivan, has said his 15-year-old son was raped by three soldiers. Musayev added that one soldier was released after reportedly bribing the Kangarli District Military Prosecutor’s Office while the other two were reportedly sentenced to one year and nine months in prison, respectively.
The news was first reported by Gundelik Nakhchivan, a social media page that shares local news from the region, on 4 September.
In the post shared on social media, Musayev addressed a video message to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his wife, Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva. In the video, Musayev stated that his son had named the soldiers who had raped him in court, but that the military prosecutor had rejected the testimony.
‘As a result, my son was kicked out of school, from his preparation classes. What will happen with my son? Our life is darkened’, Musayev said in the video.
The father stated to OC Media that they found out about the rape after the police investigation.
‘My wife told me that our son was secretly using a mobile phone. After that, I asked him for the phone, but he ran away from home. Or rather, I asked the police to find the phone because I was afraid that someone had forced him into drug trafficking. I was worried about everything, and we did not know about the rape’.
OC Media has received a copy of the military court’s verdict, according to which a 30-year-old man in the position of senior driver-mechanic with the military rank of warrant officer texted the underage boy on his social media account.
The convicted person, who was named Panahov in the verdict, confirmed that he had committed sexual behaviour and repeatedly raped the 15-year-old boy, and asked the judge to soften his sentence because he was married, had one child, and was the only breadwinner of the family.
‘The accused person suffers from the mental illness “homosexuality”, which deprives him of the ability to control his actions during sexual intercourse with the victim and when committing acts of a sexual nature towards him, and this illness arose as a result of a general illness of the body, and he exhibits signs of homosexuality. It is indicated that he was not registered with a psychiatric or drug addiction clinic’, the verdict read.
According to the verdict, Panahov was sentenced to nine months in prison, with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for one year.
Zibeyda Sadigova, a human rights lawyer, told OC Media that in such an incident, despite the underage person agreeing to have sex, the sentence duration should be one to three years.
‘Because a 15-year-old may agree, but it is a crime. The punishment in this case can be at least one year in prison’, Sadigova said.
Azerbaijan’s criminal code punishes individuals who ‘committed sexual intercourse’ with children between the age of 14–16 with one to three years in prison, with or without the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions.
The criminal code has prescribed a tougher sentence for similar crimes committed against children who have not reached the age of 14 by three to six years in prison.
Musayev sent OC Media the verdict about the second convict, identified only as Asadov, a 26-year-old lieutenant of the military base in the district. According to the court documents, he was sentenced to one year in prison, along with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for one and a half years.
Musayev claimed to OC Media that Asadov’s brother was also one of the rapists, but when he reported him to the Kangarli Prosecutor’s Office, the prosecutor asked him for evidence.
‘The criminal case was opened about these three people, but the prosecutor released one of them. Despite that, my son stated his name. The prosecutor asked for proof from me and refused the result of the examination. They solved the issue with a bribe, and I’m a poor person, I have no money for a lawyer’, stressed Musayev.
The verdict also noted that medical examinations revealed this was not the first time the boy had had sexual relations. It is unclear to what extent this finding influenced the final sentence.
Musayev said he wants justice for his son and told OC Media that he filed an appeal after the verdict.
‘The prosecutor likes to hang the medal from their neck. How could they be sentenced for nine months and one year of prison’.
In his video, Musayev asked the Aliyevs to take appropriate measures.
‘He is underage. If the officer who should defend our honour rapes my child, it means this is the end of the world. Please, take strict measures!’, stressed Musayev.
Aytan Farhadova
