Sarkhan Abbasov, born in 1996, killed his fellow villager Rahib Muradov (names withheld – ed.) during a dispute in Masalli district.
Telegraph.com–According to reports, Sarkhan reached his home in Masalli village of district on January 21 this year at around 11 pm. While knocking on the door, he heard footsteps coming from the house and asked his wife Sevda, who opened the door.
Sevda made several excuses and said that a cat had entered the room, which had not been repaired. When Sarkhan illuminated the room with the flashlight of the phone in his hand, he saw that his friend and fellow villager Rahib, born in 1994, was hiding there. He took the monk to the corridor and asked him why he had come to his house.
Unable to respond, he understood that Rahib was in a love relationship with Sevda and that his wife was unfaithful. He repeatedly punched and kicked his friend’s face and head.
Although the monk was taken to Masalli District Central Hospital with the help of the people who came there and provided him with medical assistance, he died from his injuries on January 27.
The investigative body announced charges against Sarkhan under Article 126.3 of the Criminal Code (intentionally causing serious harm to health, when carelessness leads to the death of the victim).
Sarkhan, who testified as a defendant in a criminal case, pleaded guilty to the charge against him.
He noted that Rahib was a friend and classmate as well as a villager:
“The monk works as a taxi driver in Baku with his own car and returns to the village on weekends. When he comes to Masalli, he often contacts me.”
“He said he would be with us”
According to the accused, on 21 January at around 2 pm, Rahib called his mobile phone and said that he wanted to go to Masalli district:
“He said that he was in the Garadagh region of Baku city, that Masalli was taking a passenger to the Arkivan settlement, he asked us to sit with our friend Parviz in one of the restaurants around 9 pm and wait for him.
Parviz and I went to a restaurant in the village area, drank tea there and began to wait for the rabbi. When he saw that the monk was not coming, Parviz called him and asked where he was. He said that he was in the territory of the Arkivan settlement and that he would come to see us in a few minutes. So we drank tea and continued to wait for him.
Although we tried to contact Rahib several times, he did not pick up the calls, considering it was already late, Parviz and I left the restaurant around 11 pm.
“He said it was a cat”
Sarkhan noted that he said goodbye to Parviz in the village and went home:
“I played on the phone and came home. When I entered the yard, I saw that the iron entrance gate was closed and I started knocking. A few seconds later, my wife Sevda opened the door.
While I was waiting outside for Sevda to open the door, I heard a sound similar to footsteps coming from inside the house. Sevda opened the door and greeted me calmly. I went inside with my wife. I asked her if there were any footsteps coming from the house and what those sounds were. My wife told me that a neighbor’s cat could get into the room without maintenance.
I would like to mention that I was only able to repair the bedroom of the 2-room house due to my limited financial resources. Since there is no roof or door, a curtain is hung instead of the door. When my wife mentioned the possibility of a cat, I entered the unmaintained room. Since there was no light, I started looking for the cat in that room with my phone’s flashlight. I saw a person with his face against the wall and his hands holding his head.
I took him by the sleeve of his jacket and led him into the hallway of the house. I recognized the Monk in the light. I asked him what he was doing in my house. I saw that he did not answer, only gasped in fear. I asked him again what he was doing in my house, but he did not answer my question again.
“I called my friend”
According to Sarkhan’s statement, he assumed that Rahib had a relationship with his wife Sevda and unintentionally hit Rahib several times in the face:
“Rahib fell down due to the beatings. I asked Sevda what Rahib was doing here, and when I saw that he was not responding, I slapped him too. My wife Sevda, who saw that I had beaten Rahib, came out of the house to call her father, who lives next door. I called my friend Parviz and asked him to come with us.
I then started hitting the monk’s head and face, who was kneeling on the ground and holding his face with his hands. The monk resisted and hit me on the chest, but I broke his resistance. For about 15 or 20 minutes, I continued hitting the monk’s head and face with numerous blows.
After hitting the nun and losing my temper, I went to the kitchen and wanted to go back into the hallway with a knife. I saw that my father, mother and Sevda were already at home. My father took the knife from my hand and slapped me to make me see reason. He took the knife and pushed me aside.”
“My intention was to kill”
Sarkhan said his father later asked him what had happened:
“I informed him about what had happened. My father told me to be patient and that everything would be cleared up the next day. I punched Rahib several times, even though he had relatives at home. After a minute or two, Parviz and my other classmate Rasim came to my house.
Parviz approached Rahib and asked him what he was doing at my house. The monk did not answer him either. Because Parviz’s heart was ill, his condition worsened and he fell to the ground. Together with Rasim, we took Parviz to the district central hospital.
My father reported it to the police because he thought the monk had entered the house with the intention of robbing the house. Police officers arrived and took the monk to the district central hospital. I heard that he died in the hospital on January 27. My aim in shooting the monk was to kill him.”
“They didn’t tell me why they beat him”
According to his wife, who testified as the legal heir of victim Rahib in the case, she married Rahib in 2019 and had two children from this marriage:
“My husband died in the hospital on January 27 after staying in the intensive care unit for several days. After the incident, I found out that Sarkhan trapped Rahibi in his house on January 21 and beat him up.”
“I had sex”
According to Sevda, who was named a witness in the case, she lived in the village of Masalli district with her husband Sarkhan and their two young children.
“On December 27, 2023, Sarkhan’s friend Rahib and I started talking on the social media site TikTok. We then had a close relationship. At different times, when my husband was not at home, he would come to us and we would have sex.
The last time Rahib and I agreed to have sex at home in the evening when Sarkhan was at a restaurant with his friends. The monk wrote a message around 11:00 pm and said that he had reached the courtyard of the house. I welcomed him. Although I suggested to have sex in the courtyard of the house, she said that she wanted to go home because it was cold. I also agreed.
“He knew how to hide in the room”
Sevda noted that later, sister Sarkhan and their common friend Parviz called her and invited her to the restaurant:
“The monk told them several times that he would come, but then he put his mobile phone on silent mode. After having sex with the monk, we sat on the floor in the hallway of the house and started talking. About half an hour later, when I heard a knock on the door, I said that Sarkhan had returned home. The monk got lost and went to the unrepaired room of the house. He made a sound because the floorboards in the room were not fixed. Sarkhan saw the monk with the phone.
The criminal case was heard at Lankaran Serious Crimes Court. According to the court’s verdict, Sarkhan was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison. He was ordered to serve his sentence in a general correctional facility.
