Under judge Afgan Hajiyev, Baku Grave Crimes Court, under the chairmanship continued the hearing on the criminal case against poet Saday Shakarli, who was arrested on December 23, 2015. Shakarli stands charged under Article 182.3.2 (extortion of a large amount of property) of the Criminal Code. He is accused of extorting 10,000 AZN by threatening to publish false and defamatory information about a senior official in the Ministry of Taxes.
At today’s hearing, the court discussed the motion filed by Saday Shakarli’s lawyers, who requested that the Minister of Taxes, Fazil Mammadov, and his Deputy Minister Namig Aliyev be summoned to testify as witnesses in the poet’s trial. The court rejected the motion.
The judge stated that he had to postpone the hearing due to a busy court schedule, and the next hearing was set for May 11, 16.00.