The US ambassador met with the families of the prisoners

Mark Libby considers it important to release those who have been unjustly imprisoned

On May 7, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mark Libby met with the family members of the imprisoned civil society representatives and discussed their situation.

Information about this was released by the embassy.

It is reported that the ambassador emphasized the importance of releasing those arrested.

“The United States firmly believes that an independent civil society is an integral part of an active and responsible society, and that those wrongfully imprisoned must be freed so that they can continue their important work in society.”

Nigar Hazi, the daughter of Tofig Yagublu, who is currently in prison, told Meydan TV that Ofelya Maharramova, the mother of journalist Sevinj Vagifgizi, and Gunel Manafly, the wife of Ruslan Izzatli, a member of the Board of Directors of the III Republican Platform, attended the meeting together with her.

According to Nigar Hazi, who said that the meeting lasted more than 1 hour, Ambassador Mark Libby was interested in the situation of political prisoners and their families.

Arrested on November 21, 2023, Sevinj Vagifgizin was charged under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling) of the Criminal Code.

He does not accept the accusations, saying that his arrest was related to his journalistic activities.

Since the end of last year, more than 10 journalists have been arrested in Azerbaijan.

In the “AbzasMedia” case, the site’s director Ulvi Hasanli, deputy director, social activist Mahammad Kekalov, and editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifqizi were arrested.

After that, investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were arrested.

Each of them is charged with Article 206.3.2 (smuggling by a group of persons) of the Criminal Code.

With this article, they are sentenced to 5 to 8 years of imprisonment.

Journalists associate their arrests with purely professional activities.

On March 6, the police raided the office of “Toplum TV” and searched the office, the homes of several employees of the site, including the office of the Third Republican Platform.

Akif Gurbanova, Farid Ismayilova, Mushfiq Jabbara, Ali Zeynala, Ramil Babayeva, Elmir Abbasova and Ilkin Amrahova were charged with 206.3.2 (smuggling).

On March 8, lawyer Alasgar Mammadli, one of the founders of “Toplum TV”, was detained by plain clothes in front of the “Istanbul” Clinic.

On the same day, the police also detained Ruslan Izzatli, a member of the Founding Committee of the Third Republican Platform.

Both houses were searched. It was claimed that 7300 dollars were found in Alasgar Mammadli’s house.

Ruslan Izzatli’s wife Gunel Manafli noted that “money was found” in their house.

Among those detained in connection with this case are Alasgar Mammadli (founder of Toplum TV), Mushfiq Jabbar (“Toplum TV”), Akif Gurbanov (III Republican Platform), Ruslan Izzateli (III Republican Platform), Ramil Babayev (Institute of Democratic Initiatives), Ilkin Amrahov (Institute of Democratic Initiatives), Ali Zeynal (Institute of Democratic Initiatives) were charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling – when committed by a group of persons who conspired in advance).

They consider themselves to be the accused.

Tofig Yagublu has been in prison since December 14. He was charged with articles 178.3.2 (fraud causing massive damage) and 320 (making or using a forged document) of the Criminal Code, and a 4-month pretrial detention was chosen for the initial investigation period.

Tofig Yagublu is accused of receiving money in the name of sending him abroad. The politician’s daughter, Nigar Hazi, said that this accusation was false and that certain people were used to defame her father.

“There is a person named Elnur Vaqifoglu, who has been used in criminal cases against different people from time to time for many years. He was also convicted of fraud. Now they use it to vilify the father. Supposedly, someone who wanted to go abroad gave money to Elnur Vaqifoglu. He mediated and gave the money to the father. It is completely false, fake, fictitious work. Such a thing did not happen, nor could it happen…”.

It is alleged that the money was given on December 8, and on the 11th, the criminal case was initiated.

Nigar Hazi says that the initiation of a criminal case and the arrest of Tofig Yagublu in just 3 days prove that this is a politically fabricated case.

Tofig Yagublu was in administrative and long-term prison several times during his political activities.

He was arrested in 2013 on charges of organizing protests in Ismayilli.

The politician, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison, was released in 2017 with an amnesty order.

He was later arrested on March 22, 2020 on charges of hooliganism. It was alleged that he caused a car accident near the “8th kilometer market”, and then insulted and injured the driver of another car and his wife.

This time Nizami was sentenced to 4 years and 3 months in prison by the verdict of the District Court.

Immediately after the verdict – on September 2, 2020, Tofig Yagublu, who declared that he started a hunger strike to protest the injustice of the court, continued this action for 17 days.

As his condition worsened, he was transferred from the detention center to the clinic.

On September 18, by the decision of the Baku Appellate Court, he was released under house arrest.

On July 15, 2021, the Baku Appellate Court replaced the 4-year-3-month prison sentence with a suspended sentence.

Tofig Yagublu was arrested several times for 30 days due to his participation in protests and rallies.

In addition, he was detained during a protest on December 1, 2021, and was released in the evening of that day.

Tofig Yagublu, who was detained in front of the cameras in the fountain square, was found with serious injuries in the settlement of Alat, Garadagh region.

The political activist stated that he was put in this situation first in the police station, and later in the evening he was taken out of there and beaten in the desert area.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs denied what he said.

The prosecutor’s office also refused to open a criminal case based on the complaint of a political activist, and came to the conclusion that Tofig Yagublu hit his head and body against the wall and the police car and got into that situation.