On February 24, there was a hearing in the case of Ismayilli prisoners and journalist Tofig Yagublu, where the prosecuting attorney requested punishment for the accused. The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) received the update from the journalist’s lawyer Nemat Karimli.
As the lawyer said, the prosecutor requested 8 years of imprisonment for REAL Movement chairman Ilgar Mammadov and 7 years for journalist Tofig Yagublu.
Background: Tofig Yagublu was arrested on 4 February 2013, for allegedly attempting to undermine stability in Ismayilli region by calling on the locals to resist the police and block the roads, during his visit to the region on January 24. He was eventually sentenced to two months of pretrial detention by Nasimi District Court on charges of “organizing public disorder” (Article 233 of the Criminal Code) and “resisting the representative of authorities or using violence against them” (Article 315 of the Criminal Code). Yagublu’s appeal against the decision was denied by the Baku Appeals Court on February 8. On April 27, one of the previous two charges filed against Yagublu, “organizing public disorder” (Article 233/Criminal Code), was replaced by that of “organizing or participating in mass disorders accompanied by violence, looting, arson, destruction of property, application of fire-arms or explosives, or armed resistance against representative of authority” (Article 220.1/Criminal Code) which carries a maximum of 12 years imprisonment.