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Supreme Court of Azerbaijan Rejects Appeal of Editor-in-Chief of Anti-Governmental Newspapers

Society Materials 22 August 2007 11:03 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend K.Zarbaliyeva / The sentence with regards to the editor-in-chief of Realni Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan newspapers, Eynulla Fatullayev, who was arrested for insulting Khojali residents was upheld.

Presided by judge Tapdig Mahmudov, the court rejected Fatullayev's appeal regarding the sentence of Yasamal District Court, a source stated in the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan.

Fatullayev was charged by Tatiana Chaladzeh, the director of the Centre for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons' Rights Protection, in compliance with Article 147 of the Criminal Code (slander) and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment. He is accused of insulting the honour and dignity of the occupied Khojaly city's former residents in his article named "Diary of Karabakh".

Fatullayev considers that an unfair sentence was made with regards to him. The journalist made an appeal on the sentence. Fatullayev's lawyer Isakhan Ashurov intends to appeal to the European Court on Human rights.

On 6 April Yasamal District Court fined Fatullayev the amount of AZN 20,000 according to the lawsuit by Chaladze. The Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, Zakir Garalov, said that the reason to file the criminal case was that the website www.realazer.net established by Fatullayev showed the State facilities and concrete addresses in Azerbaijan which are intended to be bombed by Iran.

The Azerbaijani National Security Ministry instituted new proceeding against Fatullayev on the facts of threatening with terror on 16 May. Fatullayev was removed from the Bayil investigation cell to the National Security Ministry's isolation cell. Fatullayev was charged with Article 214.1 (terrorism threat) and 283.2.2 (rouse of national, race, social and religious hatred) of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.

Currently 7 journalists are under arrest in Azerbaijan. Recently the Editor-in-Chief of Mukhalifet newspaper, Rovshan Kebirly and the newspaper's employee, Yashar Agazade were sentenced to 2 year and 6 months of imprisonment.

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