Baku court rejects defense's request for psychiatric examination for second time

On April 1, the Baku Grave Crimes Court held another hearing on the murder of Yasin Ibadov, a 19-year-old queer youth known as Rüzgar in the community. In the trial, presided over by Judge Elman Rustamov, the panel of judges rejected two motions filed by the defense, a psychiatric examination and a re-criminalistic examination.

The lawyer for 38-year-old Babek Ibadov, the uncle of the deceased and the only suspect in the crime, had also filed the first of these motions, namely a request to examine his client's mental state, in the previous trial held on March 4. The court refused to grant this request in both hearings.

The public prosecutor asked the court for time to make his closing statement. The amount of the sentence that the prosecution will request for Babek Ibadov will be announced at the next hearing scheduled for April 13.

The incident took place on November 6, 2025, on Bashir Safaroglu Street in the Sabail district of Baku. Yasin Ibadov, who was born in 2006, lived in Turkey and had only come to Azerbaijan for 10 days to renew his foreign passport. According to eyewitness accounts, he died as a result of multiple stab wounds.

At the court hearing held on February 4, Babek Ibadov confessed to the murder, but claimed that he only learned about the deceased's gender identity later. Witnesses questioned during the trial described the events leading up to Yasin's departure to Turkey, the attempts of family members to "find and bring him back," and the events on the day of the murder.

On February 23, the deceased's mother testified in court that she had no complaints against the accused and had forgiven him. Such a position could directly affect the course of the criminal case within the Azerbaijani legal system.

The deceased's queer identity should significantly increase the public resonance of the case. Minority Azerbaijan demands that the court consider homophobic and queerphobic motives as aggravating circumstances of the crime and protect the dignity of the victim.

Babek Ibadova was charged under Articles 120.2.2 (murder with special cruelty), 120.2.4, 221.3 (hooliganism) and 228.5 (illegal possession of weapons) of the Criminal Code.

The next court hearing will be held on April 13 at 10:45.

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