Court explains verdict in TikToker “Arzum 9999” case, expert points to disputed issues

Baku’s Khazar District Court has explained its verdict in the case of TikToker Ilduza Hajiyeva, known as “Arzum 9999”, after the ruling sparked wide discussion on social media and in the media.

According to the court statement, Hajiyeva was charged with violating traffic and vehicle operation rules, causing a person’s death by negligence, and with leaving the scene of a traffic accident.

According to the charge, the accident occurred at around 00:53 on June 27, 2025, on the Mardakan-Gala road in Baku’s Khazar district. Hajiyeva, who was driving a Changan Qiyuan A05 Plug-in Hybrid, collided with a Mercedes-Benz D2, which then crashed into a concrete barrier. The Mercedes driver was killed and a passenger was seriously injured.

The court said Hajiyeva left the scene after the accident without waiting for law enforcement officers or helping the victims, and later travelled to Germany.

The court said that, according to an expert opinion, Hajiyeva’s actions did not comply with the requirements of the law “On Road Traffic” and that she had a technical opportunity to prevent the accident if those requirements had been observed.

The prosecutor had sought a sentence of five years and nine months in prison. The court sentenced Hajiyeva to five years and two months, taking into account that she left the scene of the accident, that there was no reconciliation with the injured party, and that she has minor children.

At the same time, traffic expert Tural Yusifov, commenting on the legal aspects of similar situations, said it was important in such cases to consider not only Article 42 of the law “On Road Traffic”, which regulates starting movement and manoeuvring, but also Article 51, which regulates overtaking.

According to him, Article 42 says a driver turning left must give way to oncoming vehicles. However, Yusifov stressed that this rule applies to oncoming traffic, not to a vehicle coming from behind and attempting to overtake.

The expert said that under Article 51, if the vehicle ahead has switched on its left turn signal and started a left-turn manoeuvre, it must be overtaken from the right.

“The law does not say that overtaking from the right is recommended in such a situation. In this case, the driver must overtake from the right,” Yusifov said.

He also noted that, from a safety point of view, a driver turning left should check once again before starting the manoeuvre to make sure there is no vehicle behind. However, he stressed that under the law, a driver who sees the vehicle ahead signalling a left turn should not pass it from the left.

In Yusifov’s view, such situations are often interpreted in practice against the driver making the turn, although in some cases drivers have succeeded in having protocols against them cancelled through the courts.

Parties who disagree with the verdict may file an appeal under the procedure established by law.

N.Tebrizli