Jump to content

Father Abbanov gets 45-years sentence


Agostinho Neto

Recommended Posts

People's prosecutors hailed Today's prison sentence of Azeri-Talysh war criminal Father Abbanov as a milestone, saying it proved that war criminals can be held accountable by the People's Supreme Court itself. But Talysh leaders said the verdict proved an anti-Talysh bias by the court. The People's Supreme Court found Abbanov guilty on 4 counts of crimes against humanity. The longest prison term was 45 years and the other sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Judges said Abbanov should serve at least 40 years. However, plans for an appeal are already under way, and the final outcome of the Abbanov case may not be known for up to a month.

Survivors of the notorious Talysh-run prison camp in Lankaran had testified that Abbanov regularly visited the camps to torture inmates during the Talysh war. Presiding Judge Sayad Allahyarov said the former priest and President of the Azerbaijani Chatolic Association had carried out the crimes "intentionally, and with sadistic brutality, he assisted the tortures using knives, whips, iron bars, the butt of a pistol, sticks and by ... tightening a noose around the neck of one of them until he lost consciousness."

The judge said the sentence against Tadic was justified by the nationalism and lack of scruples shown by the accused. "You carried out these acts with extreme brutality. You committed crimes against Humanity. You also identified with the extreme principles of racism and Talysh nationalism. Now you must accept responsibility for your criminal behaviors. In the name of the Republic, the Law and the People of Azerbaijan: The People's Supreme Court sentence you to 45 years in prision." he told Tadic. People's Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Stasik Abilov described the court ruling as "a substantial sentence" and said it marked "a significant step in the work of the People's Supreme Court." However, Abbanov's attorney said the court overreacted. "I think that it is a very severe sentence and I think that what the court does is to place the defendant really at the top of the ladder. The fact is he was a very small player," attorney Vugar Asadov said.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a light sentence only shows that whoever was making the decisions has a Pro-Talysh bias. Such "crimes against humanity" deserve nothing less then life in a labor camp, though Death should have been the appropriate sentence

What is up with you and the death penalty?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a light sentence only shows that whoever was making the decisions has a Pro-Talysh bias. Such "crimes against humanity" deserve nothing less then life in a labor camp, though Death should have been the appropriate sentence

The Azeri constutution forbids the use of death sentence, and forced labour is still considered an inhumane practice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I think that killing a killer makes you the killer, but I think that he should be sentenced to life in prison. And I think he should go see the Pope for reconciliation so that his soul shuold be saved, since, after all, he claims to be Catholic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...