The investigation left Sevinj Vagifgizy’s mother without a pension
Ofelya Maharramova filed an appeal against the blocking of her pension card
The pension card of Ofelya Maharramova, the mother of the editor-in-chief of “AbzasMedia” Sevinj Vagifgizy, has been blocked.
Ofelya Maharramova tells Meydan TV that she learned about it on December 15:
“I receive the pension due to illness. No matter how hard I tried yesterday, I couldn’t withdraw the money. 326 manats are written on the screen of Kapital Bank’s ATM, but the money cannot be withdrawn. Everyone took out their money, except me. They said it was blocked.”
In November 2023, the Khatai District Court seized the bank accounts, pension and salary cards of AbzasMedia director Ülvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgızi and their family members without any warning.
Ulvi Hasanli’s lawyer Zibeyda Sadighova told “Voice of America” that the court’s decision is baseless.
“We appealed the court’s decision because the court did not justify its decision. We have also filed motions for reinstatement. Because the decisions were made in November, and we found out in December. In general, they didn’t even invite us to the court that such decisions will be made, what is your opinion”, – Zibeyda Sadygova said.
Sevinj Vagifgiz’s lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, told Meydan TV that the legislation does not allow the freezing of accounts.
“In this regard, an appeal was made to the Baku Court of Appeal. On December 18, the court will consider the case and make its decision on it.”
Lawyer Samad Rahimli tells Meydan TV that if the court did not justify its decision, it means that it violated the law.
“According to Article 248 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in cases where there is preliminary evidence, restrictions can be placed on the bank accounts of the person being prosecuted, third parties related to him, including his relatives. In such a case, there should be at least some reasonable suspicion for the issues of seizure of property or freezing of bank account. If there is, it should be justified, if not, it should reject the motions of the investigation”, – the lawyer says so.
In Azerbaijan, since July 1, 2020, the income of additional funds to pension, pension and benefit cards (social card) has been restricted.
According to the new rules, such transfers should be sent only with the bank, or the cardholder can activate the use of the service after approaching the bank and filling out the application form.
And Ofelya Maharramova said that she used the card only for the purpose of receiving a pension.
He added that all his accounts and bank transactions were frozen:
“I can neither receive money nor withdraw money from the bank.”
A lawyer considers it illegal to block a pension card if:
“This is a state pension. On the other hand, the bank could prevent non-pension payments to the card by limiting transactions. There was no need to block the card for this. If it is blocked, then it is illegal.”
According to Samad Rahimli, the pension payment has nothing to do with the alleged accusation:
“My guess is that the investigative body blocked the bank accounts and cards of both the accused and all his relatives. This is not a new act for law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan. They have always done it this way.”
Ulvi Hasanli was arrested on November 20, and Sevinj Vagifgizi was arrested on November 21. The Khatai District Court has chosen preventive measures for the director of the site for 4 months, and for the editor-in-chief for 3 months and 29 days.
Two more employees of “AbzasMedia” – deputy director Mahammad Kekalov were detained on November 20, and journalist Nargiz Absalamova was detained on November 30.
They were sentenced to 3 months and 27 days and 3 months of detention, respectively.
Investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly was also involved in the investigation related to the “AbzasMedia” case. On December 14, a 3-month preventive measure was chosen for him.
All five persons are charged with Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling by a group of persons with prior collusion).
Journalists do not accept the accusations, they state that the reason for their arrest is the corruption investigations published in “AbzasMedia”.
International organizations appealed to the Azerbaijani authorities and asked them to stop the pressure on the free media.
They called what happened as “revenge” against the media.