The prison terms of 5 more journalists have been extended

The journalists said that they faced inhumane treatment while being brought to the court

5 more journalists detained in the criminal case related to “Abzas Media” – director of the publication Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi (Abbasova), coordinator Mahammad Kekalov, researcher Hafiz Babali and Nargiz Absalamova have been remanded in custody.

On September 7, the Khatai District Court heard the presentation made by the First Deputy Prosecutor General Elchin Mammadov about them.

He showed in the presentation that 10 months was not enough to investigate Sevinj Vagifqizi, Ulvi Hasanli and other journalists.

For this reason, the investigation is ongoing, so there is a need to extend the pretrial detention of the accused persons.

Elchin Mammadov asked to extend the detention period of the journalists for another 3 months during the investigation period.

Judge Sahiba Hajiyeva watched the presentation. But court proceedings related to journalists were held separately.

Both journalists and their lawyers said that the presentation was groundless.

Journalists said that they were defamed for exposing illegalities and corruption in the country.

They said that they are kept in prison by political order, even though they have not committed any crime.

In all court proceedings, Sahiba Hajiyeva ensured the presentation and extended the period of detention of the journalists until December 20.

The lawyers told reporters after the trial that they will file an appeal against this decision of the Khatai District Court.

When the journalists were brought to the court, they complained about the inhuman behavior of the staff of the Penitentiary Service towards them.

They said that even though they were brought to the court, they were kept in a dark and cramped prison car for more than half an hour in hot weather, and they were not dropped off and taken to the court building.

In addition, Hafiz Babaly said that despite the fact that he had a vascular problem in his leg, no measures were taken to treat it.

According to him, on the eve of his arrest, he was preparing for surgery.

Due to the lack of treatment, his health problem is getting deeper and deeper.

Yesterday, on September 6, the Khatai District Court of Baku provided the presentation of the investigation body to extend the prison term of journalist Elnara Gasimova and economist Farid Mehralizade, who were arrested in connection with the “Abzas Media case”.

Arrest of journalists and pressure on the media…

Arrests in the “Abzas Media” case, known for its corruption investigations, began on November 20.

First, the site’s director Ulvi Hasanli, deputy director Mahammad Kekalov, and editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifqizi were arrested.

Later, arrests continued with investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova.

They were charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling by a group of people).

Recently, new charges have been filed, such as tax evasion, money laundering, and illegal entrepreneurship.

After Ulvi Hasanli was detained on November 20, the office of “Abzas Media” was searched.

It was claimed that 40,000 euros were found in the site’s office.

Ulvi Hasanli said that there was no money there, that 40,000 euros were deposited in the office by those who claimed to have found it.

None of the named journalists are guilty, they said that they were punished for investigations related to the business and corruption of a number of officials, including members of the president’s family, in “Abzas Media”.

After “Abzas Media”, the managers and employees of “Kanal 13” internet channel, “Toplum TV” news portal and internet television of the same name, “Meclis.info” website, which investigates the activities of the Milli Majlis and deputies, were also arrested on charges of smuggling.

It is alleged that these media organizations received grants from foreign organizations and smuggled those funds into the country. However, the journalists reject this accusation and state that they were arrested without any evidence related to smuggling.

They stated that the purpose of these arrests is to silence media organizations that investigate corruption and official arbitrariness in the country and report it to the public.