The court hearing the case of former Minister of Agriculture Aziz Voitov and 49 defendants continued its regular session in Yunusabad District Court on Criminal Cases. This was reported by a journalist of Daryo who participated in the court.

The court session continued under the chairmanship of the Mirabad district court, Sardor Sodikov, the identity of the defendants was clarified, and their rights and obligations were explained.

Temur Rahmatov, one of the lawyers speaking at the court, said that in one of the Internet publications, it was written that the case of former minister Aziz Voitov was tried in court and he was deprived of liberty for 7 years and accused journalists of spreading false information.

The presiding judge of the court, Sardor Sodikov, addressed the representatives of the mass media and lawyers and emphasized that transparency should be ensured in the court, but it should not violate the rights of the defendants.

The chairman of the court said that the presumption of innocence must be followed in covering the court proceedings.  Another lawyer, who spoke at the court and did not give his name, suggested that journalists participating in the court may be foreign agents and therefore they should be banned from covering the court. Responding to this, Sardor Sodikov said that media representatives are admitted to the court session on the basis documentation and it is clear to those in charge which media representatives they are.

During these discussions, one of the defendants also spoke and said that he was also imprisoned after the cases related to the former minister that was published on the Internet, and he said that he “does not want to see” media representatives in the court. “Where were you when the investigation started seven months ago?” he lunged.

Journalists explained that media representatives do not interfere with the investigation while the investigation is in progress therefore, it is impossible to write about it before the investigation process is complete.

Sardor Sodikov, who is presiding over the court case, said that the meeting will be adjourned until 15:00 on September 6, 2024. After the break, requests of the lawyers and defendants about media participation will be heard post which the participation of the media representatives will be discussed in court and whether to allow journalists to take photos, videos and audio materials or not will be stated.

Aziz Voitov, who was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture in August 2022, was dismissed by the President’s decision in October 2023. Soon after in December he was imprisoned, and the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Yashnabad District Court charged the former minister with Article 167 of the Criminal Code (embezzlement or embezzlement by means of distribution and  extortion). It was revealed that the suspect has been accused of having committed the crimes provided for in paragraph “a” of Part 3 and Article 205 (abuse of power or official authority) and Article 221 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (it became clear that it was caught in the order of standing grounds). After several months of investigations, on August 15, 2024, the criminal case against former Minister of Agriculture Aziz Voitov began to be heard in court.