Father Abbanov arrested for genocide, sent to People's Supreme Court

[Agostinho Neto]

Father Abbanov, the President of the Azerbaijan Chatolic Association, has been arrested today for his participation in the country's early 2009 ethnic clashes in Talyshtan, the Ministry of Interior said. General Prosecutor Ramiz Rzayev expressed satisfaction that the arrest had been successfully accomplished.

Father Abbanov, Azerbaijan's only priest, is charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity -- specifically, extermination. Azerbaijani police made the arrest in Yerevan on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by Rzayev. The indictment charges that during January and February 2009, Abbanov stated that "the situation for the Azeris in Talyshtan is very bad and that their end has arrived," the General Prosecutor said. When Azeri refugees sought safety in Lankaran, the priest instructed his subordinate to register them according to ethnic group. The list was later used to select Azeris to be kidnapped, the General Prosecutor charges. The priest also allegedly paid the Talysh militias who carried out the kidnapps.

The General Prosecutor is holding 15 suspects, nine of whom are on trial. The tribunal has convicted eight people so far. "This case is clearly a big step in applying the principle that justice has no limits and that every country has the right and the moral duty to investigate the worst atrocities, no matter who's responsible" said the Head of the People's Supreme Court, Zakir Garalov.

Disorder in Lankaran, Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, early January 2009

[Subtleknifewielder]

Promised Land advises Azerbaijan to step carefully in this case, lest cries of religious persecution be brought down upon those handling it.

This is not to say we suport geonocide, but to say that if the slightest detail is mishandled, many people will look at it and believe this is purely based on the defendent's religion.

[JEDCJT]

The UK watches the situation with concern. The arrest of a Catholic priest is surprising, indeed, but we hope the situation will proceed peacefully.

[Holy See]

Official Vatican Statement

We are deeply disturbed to hear of the crimes commited by a priest in Azerbaijan. We raise no complaint as he is to be subject only to Azerbaijani law, but we are saddened to see the only priest in your republic arrested. We offer a replacement priest along with a full team of church hands and the establishment of more churches in your republic.

[Lord Frost]

We are glad to see such dangerous criminals in jail, and are confident that Azerbaijan will prosecute and throw out such worthless scum. We are also not surprised in the least to see the Vatican using this as an opportunity to spread their religion into Azerbaijan

Edited April 2, 2009 by Lord Frost

[Holy See]

We are glad to see such dangerous criminals in jail, and are confident that Azerbaijan will prosecute and throw such worthless scum. We are also not surprised in the least to see the Vatican using this as an opportunity to spread their religion into Azerbaijan

We hope to see no criminal thrown or for that matter abused in any way, dispite their persecution. Also, we are peaceful messengers of God, and have no plan to force our faith unto others, instead we light the path to Him and make it available in places where it is not.

Edited April 2, 2009 by Holy See

[LeVentNoir]

We hope that this manic is executed for his murderous actions.

[V The King]

"It deeply disturbs us how a Catholic priest performed genocide-like actions... nevertheless, he ought to be judged and punished, much like any other criminal."

[LeVentNoir]

"It deeply disturbs us how a Catholic priest performed genocide-like actions... nevertheless, he ought to be judged and punished, much like any other criminal."

Its quite logical, either convert the 'heathens' or remove them from this earth 'god' gave to you. We see his reasons, however pitiful they are.

[Subtleknifewielder]

We are glad to see such dangerous criminals in jail, and are confident that Azerbaijan will prosecute and throw out such worthless scum. We are also not surprised in the least to see the Vatican using this as an opportunity to spread their religion into Azerbaijan

We hope that this manic is executed for his murderous actions.

"It deeply disturbs us how a Catholic priest performed genocide-like actions... nevertheless, he ought to be judged and punished, much like any other criminal."

And why does everyone automatically assume he is guilty? Is not the maxim "innocent until proven guilty?" Nothing has been proven yet--it is still only accusations.

And you call yourselves civilized nations.

[Comrade]

Molakia Applauds that a criminal has been taken down once again for Genocide.

[Subtleknifewielder]

Molakia Applauds that a criminal has been taken down once again for Genocide.

Oh, for the second time, he hasn't been out on trial yet! No evidence has been presented other than circumstantial, and therefore, "innocent until proven guilty!" We should not have to repeat ourselves.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Subtleknifewielder

[LeVentNoir]

And why does everyone automatically assume he is guilty? Is not the maxim "innocent until proven guilty?" Nothing has been proven yet--it is still only accusations.

And you call yourselves civilized nations.

The fact is, society would be better off without him. His actions merely give us just cause to remove him. And besides, our justice system works on guilty until proven innocent.

[Lord Frost]

And why does everyone automatically assume he is guilty? Is not the maxim "innocent until proven guilty?" Nothing has been proven yet--it is still only accusations.

And you call yourselves civilized nations.

what is this "Innocent until proven guilty" concept of which you speak. He would not have been arrested if there was not sufficient evidence to remove him. Is this another one of those hilarious little "human rights" quips that Promised Land so often spouts?

OOC: remember subtle, the US never existed, and a lot of what has been established RL hasn't been established in Bob. Also, above is srs face question, not an insult

[Subtleknifewielder]

The fact is, society would be better off without him. His actions merely give us just cause to remove him. And besides, our justice system works on guilty until proven innocent.

And that attitude makes you better than him, how exactly?

You must punish a lot of innocent people in that case, simply for making a simple choice you view as a mistake.

[Subtleknifewielder]

what is this "Innocent until proven guilty" concept of which you speak. He would not have been arrested if there was not sufficient evidence to remove him. Is this another one of those hilarious little "human rights" quips that Promised Land so often spouts?

OOC: remember subtle, the US never existed, and a lot of what has been established RL hasn't been established in Bob. Also, above is srs face question, not an insult

OOC: I know it's not an insult. And according to some people's RP (like Mudd's, I believe), yes, the US did exist.

IC: So, you don't believe that every human has certain rights unless they are forfeited by a criminal act which can be proven?

This innocent until proven guilty concept of which you are ignorant operates on the basis of "burden of proof." The person who actually committed the crime may shift attention by framing someone who is innocent, and therefore the burden of proof is on the accuser.

[HHAYD]

The fact is, society would be better off without him. His actions merely give us just cause to remove him. And besides, our justice system works on guilty until proven innocent.

Wait, so you are demanding the defenders to hand out evidences when your courts brought them into trial? So that means if someone was brought into trial without much evidences against him/her, the person could be arrested for car jacking because he/she couldn't prove he/she was innocent? If you can't prove someone is wrong, then you are wrong.

what is this "Innocent until proven guilty" concept of which you speak. He would not have been arrested if there was not sufficient evidence to remove him. Is this another one of those hilarious little "human rights" quips that Promised Land so often spouts?

OOC: remember subtle, the US never existed, and a lot of what has been established RL hasn't been established in Bob. Also, above is srs face question, not an insult

And what if he was framed by someone else? How would you feel if you were arrested just because two witnesses said they saw you mass murdering people and the two witnesses are the only evidences?

Molakia Applauds that a criminal has been taken down once again for Genocide.

But no evidences have been shown yet, genius.

"It deeply disturbs us how a Catholic priest performed genocide-like actions... nevertheless, he ought to be judged and punished, much like any other criminal."

We are glad to see such dangerous criminals in jail, and are confident that Azerbaijan will prosecute and throw out such worthless scum. We are also not surprised in the least to see the Vatican using this as an opportunity to spread their religion into Azerbaijan

How do you know when the evidences haven't been shown yet? Spying?

OOC: I know it's not an insult. And according to some people's RP (like Mudd's, I believe), yes, the US did exist.

IC: So, you don't believe that every human has certain rights unless they are forfeited by a criminal act which can be proven?

This innocent until proven guilty concept of which you are ignorant operates on the basis of "burden of proof." The person who actually committed the crime may shift attention by framing someone who is innocent, and therefore the burden of proof is on the accuser.

We agree with you, innocent until proven guilty.

Edited April 3, 2009 by HHAYD

[Justinian the Mighty]

The world should show more faith in the Azeri court system. If Father Abbanov is guilty he will be found guilty, if he is innocent he will be acquitted and released from custody by the authorities.

[Lynneth]

The world should show more faith in the Azeri court system. If Father Abbanov is guilty he will be found guilty, if he is innocent he will be acquitted and released from custody by the authorities.

We agree with Slavorussia.

On that note, the Canadian system is basically that which Promised Land described: Innocent until proven guilty.

[LeVentNoir]

Wait, so you are demanding the defenders to hand out evidences when your courts brought them into trial? So that means if someone was brought into trial without much evidences against him/her, the person could be arrested for car jacking because he/she couldn't prove he/she was innocent? If you can't prove someone is wrong, then you are wrong.

Simply put, if you did not commit the crime, then it would be easy to establish why you could not have possibly committed the crime. Finally, not one person had been found guilty of 'carjacking' in Glorious Aotearoa.

[Lynneth]

Simply put, if you did not commit the crime, then it would be easy to establish why you could not have possibly committed the crime. Finally, not one person had been found guilty of 'carjacking' in Glorious Aotearoa.

Mostly because almost nobody actually owns a car, isn't that right?

Edited April 3, 2009 by Lynneth

[Sir Keshav IV]

We are happy to Azerbaijan send a criminal like this to jail.

"Knock Knock" Promised Land hope your reading, A religious leader himself is considered dangerous and yet you still support religion.

Luckily our nation doesn't need to deal which such maniacs like this priest.

[Agostinho Neto]

Prosecutors at the war crimes trial of Father Abbanov, which starts in Baku's People's Supreme Court today, have been accused of poor preparation and warned that their reputation is on the line. Hazan Konstantinovich, one of three neutral lawyers whose job is to ensure the hearing is fair, said some work by Ramiz Rzayev , the General Prosecutor of the Republic, had been rushed and given insufficient thought. His comments are the first public criticism of the prosecution from a senior figure at the tribunal, and seem to arise in part from the deluge of hundreds of pages of prosecution documents.

When Mr Abbanov appears this morning in a court which he refuses to recognise, he faces charges of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Talyshtan in January-February 2009. The Priest, the first to face a war crimes tribunal, faces life in prison if convicted. He was said to be in a "very good mood" yesterday as he put the final touches to a lengthy address he hopes to deliver today. The case, the first war crimes trial since the end of the war, is seen as the coming of age for the tribunal which was created in March. The charges for Talyshtan, which include genocide, have presented the prosecution with "enormous problems", Mr Konstantinovich added. "Even today binders are coming in ... They have so much material it needs more time and reflection before you can choose how to proceed. Is that ideal way to run a trial of this magnitude?"

The arguments were rejected by General Prosecutor Ramiz Rzayev, who said extensive work had been done to find new evidence after the end of the war, and the indictment had been amended. "From the end of February 2009 until now we never stopped investigations, he knew he was under investigation." he said.

Azeri artillery shelling Yardimly Town, January 2009

[HHAYD]

We are happy to Azerbaijan send a criminal like this to jail.

"Knock Knock" Promised Land hope your reading, A religious leader himself is considered dangerous and yet you still support religion.

Luckily our nation doesn't need to deal which such maniacs like this priest.

We don't really care about religion, and the main reason why we are not condemning the priest's actions yet is because we have not seen the evidences.

[King Kevz]

Azerbaijan's International Airport

International Flight 454 had recently landed and had now taxied to a stop away from the main runways and was in the process of unloading its passengers. Men, women and children were busy descending the steps that had been brought forward. Of these passengers three of them were not what they appeared to be. One was a young man aged about twenty or twenty one with a thick beard and moustache with a fairly dark skin and was wearing a robe of some sort which got him a glance or two from the adults and the odd laugh from the younger children before they were shushed by their parents, the other man looked about forty years old and was also wearing a robe though this one was of a better quality than the younger man's and it was clearly more expensive as for the man's face it couldn't be seen due to it being wrapped up in a turban of sorts. The woman was the most striking of the group. She couldn't have been much older than eighteen and she looked like one of those runway models you see on the front of a swimsuit magazine. Her clothes matched her age and looks in that they consisted of a very teenage looking t-shirt and some tight shorts which helped t show of her legs to the annoyance of a number of wives from the plane.

Eventually the procession of passengers made it down from the plane onto a nearby shuttle that took them across the main terminal building. Once inside they had to pass through a metal detection system which was a slight source of worry for the trio because what no one realised was that all three of them carried a weapon with them. Luckily they passed through without setting off the system which was due to the make up of their weapons. The weapons that all three possessed was a single ceramic knife which wouldn't set off the metal detection system and for added security all three had undergone a operation to have a section of their skin removed from their torso's and the knife's inserted into the gap left behind before the skin was grafted back on to hide the weapon. It had clearly paid off and now that they were through they quickly made their way outside the terminal without any luggage.

Now that they were out they hailed down a nearby taxi driver and climbed in. The woman asked for the driver to take them to the People's Supreme Court and handed him the money required fro the trip as well as a very generous tip.