The Judge Samir Talybov issued a lawful and justified judgment against Aqil Humbatov and… ceased to be a judge
Aqil Humbatov
Analysis of the legitimate judicial decision
Baku City Sabunchi District Court
Case №2(006)-3222/2020
1 April 2020
Judge: Samir Talybov
Person against whom an application for involuntary placement in a psychiatric hospital has been filed: Aqil Humbatov
The person who filed the application for placement A. Humbatov to a psychiatric clinic: Agahasan Rasulov, the head physician of the 1st Republican Psychiatric Hospital
Representative of the legal entity of the 1st Republican Psychiatric Hospital: Dr. Fakhraddin Ibrahimov
Aqil Humbatov is a 37-year-old unemployed member of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), lives in Zira settlement area of Baku city, and has three young dependent children: a two-year-old son, a six-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter. He collects cardboard from dumps and sells it in order to make some money to feed his children.
Aqil Humbatov has repeatedly criticized the country’s president on his Facebook page. In March 2020, Humbatov addressed the President of the country on Facebook and harshly criticized the latter. Humbatov raised the issue of child benefits since he, having three young children, needs some medical care for one of his sons. See:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihzNZTheruE
On 30 March Aqil Humbatov was detained and brought to the police. The reason for the detention was his interview with the Azerbaijani branch of Radio Liberty, in which he had criticised the state power and particularly the health care system in the republic. As A. Humbatov told later, an ambulance had been called to the police station to take him, under the policemen supervision, to the Republican Psychiatric Hospital in the village of Mashtaga. On the same day, the Head doctor of the hospital, Agahasan Rasulov, applied to the Sabunchi District Court of Baku City for a ruling on the forced placement of Aqil Humbatov at the psychiatric hospital. The Head Doctor justified his statement by the fact that Aqil Humbatov, born in 1983, had been urgently admitted to the hospital on the basis of a letter from the 1st department of the Baku City Khazar District Police Department from 30 March 2020.
Dr. Fakhraddin Ibrahimov was a hospital representative at the trial. In the course of the trial, F. Ibrahimov said that Humbatov had no inherited mental diseases, no brain injury, tuberculosis or skin and venereal diseases. The hospital representative also testified that, on 31 March 2020, Humbatov had been examined by a medical committee that had determined: the patient had not suffer from either any mental disorders or movement coordination’s, he articulated well, rather talkative, and well communicated. The Hospital representative confirmed the fact that A. Humbatov had said that he hadn’t been able to support his children, and his poor financial situation was exactly the reason why he had made a video addressed to the President of the country Ilham Aliyev.
However, Aqil Humbatov was diagnosed with a “paranoid personality disorder”. Fakhraddin Ibrahimov asked the court to place Aqil Humbatov in a psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment.
At the trial, Aqil Humbatov’s legal representative, the executive secretary of the Guardianship and Trusteeship Commission under the Executive Power of Sabunchi district of Baku city, made a speech. The latter did not agree with the appeal of Agahasan Rasulov, the Head Doctor of the Psychiatric Hospital, concerning the forced placement of A. Humbatov at the hospital, pointing out that Aqil Humbatov had not suffered from any mental illness, he had been just concerned about the fate of his children, his complaints were due to his poor financial condition. For these reasons, the appeal of Agahasan Rasulov, the Hospital Head Doctor, should be rejected.
At the trial, Aqil Humbatov had confirmed that he had never been mentally ill, that his financial situation was indeed very difficult, that’s why he had repeatedly demanded through the Internet that the President’s administration provides children’s allowances, he was not giving up his demands even at the trial.
The case contains a letter from the 1st Department of the Baku Khazar district police department dated 30 March 2020, where it was written that Aqil Humbatov unable to manage his actions, behaved immorally towards some neighbors, therefore A. Humbatov’s neighbors, Tamara Aliyeva, Vugar Amirov, and Alimurad Azizov applied to the clinic with complaints.
On 1 April 2020, the Judge Samir Talybov, having studied the case materials and heard the trial participants’ testimonies, ruled to decline the petition of the psychiatric hospital head physician Agahasan Rasulov.
The Judge S. Talybov stated in his ruling that the psychiatrists had not provided irrefutable evidence of Aqil Humbatov’s danger to others or himself. They also failed to provide convincing and credible evidence that A. Humbatov had been unable to account for or direct his actions due to any mental disorder.
Commentary by expert lawyer:
The court verdict is unlawful and unjustified. According to the Article 28 (I) of the Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic, everyone has the right for freedom. Accordance the Article 28 (II), right for freedom might be restricted only as specified by law, by way of detention, arrest or imprisonment.
Article 11 of the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic “On Psychiatric Care” state:
11.1. If the nature of the mental disorder requires examination and treatment only in a psychiatric hospital, the involuntary treatment in a psychiatric hospital must be prescribed if there are the following reasons:
11.1.1. when a person with a mental disorder poses a danger to himself and/or others;
11.1.2. when a person is helpless as a result of a mental disorder, i.e. unable to independently fulfill basic life needs;
11.1.3. when failure to provide in-patient care to a person with a severe mental disorder may cause an unavoidable harm to his health or make his treatment impossible.
Aqil Humbatov’s condition does not correspond to the grounds for involuntary placement in a psychiatric hospital, as indicated in the 11th Article. The court took into account the provisions of the Article 11 of the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic “On Psychiatric Aid”.
Aqil Humbatov’s condition does not correspond to the grounds for involuntary placement in a psychiatric hospital, as indicated in the 11th Article. The court took into account the provisions of the Article 11 of the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic “On Psychiatric Aid”.
The officers of the 1st department of the Baku Khazar district police department claimed that A. Humbatov showed disrespect to others committing immoral actions. However, no one confirmed that and the court also took into account that fact when issuing its decision.
As mentioned above, the court, having refused to satisfy the Head Doctor’s application, preserved Aqil Humbatov’s physical freedom and his right to freedom. The court took into account all the circumstances of the case, A. Humbatov’s personality, and his social situation. Granting the appeal of the Head Doctor, Agahasan Rasulov, by the court would have been a result of A. Humbatov’s deprivation of freedom and would have contributed to the inhuman treatment of the person.
Judge Samir Talybov
On the same day, 1 April, the Judge Samir Talybov, who issues a lawful and well-founded court decision, came to the psychiatric hospital himself and handed over the court decision to the Head Doctor Agahasan Rasulov. The Judge made sure that the release of A. Humbatov was legally registered, and then personally sent him home by taxi.
The next day, the judge Samir Talybov, who had released Aqil Humbatov from the psychiatric hospital, was called from the presidential office and asked to write a statement about his voluntary resignation, which he did. Within one day, the Judicial and Legal Council of Azerbaijan dismissed Samir Talybov from his post of judge…