On January 17, Sabayil district court heard journalist Parviz Hashimli’s motion for replacement of his pretrial detention sentence with house arrest. The journalist’s request was denied in a closed court hearing presided by Judge Ayten Aliyeva.
As the journalist’s lawyer Elchin Sadigov told IRFS after the hearing, the defense is going to appeal today’s decision. “Parviz once again announced that the charges filed against him are trumped-up. Nothing has changed for better in his detention conditions. Moreover, he began to suffer from vision problems. He is still not allowed to meet his family,” said the lawyer.
Background: Bizim Yol newspaper journalist and moderator.az editor-in-chief Parviz Hashimli was detained on September 17th by employees of the Ministry of National Security. On September 18th the journalist was handed down a two-month pretrial detention sentence by the Sabail District Court under two articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code: Article 206.3.2 (smuggling of firearms on preliminary arrangement by an organized group) and 228.2.1 (illegal obtaining, storing, carrying firearms and their spare parts on preliminary arrangement by an organized group). His detention term was extended for another three months on November 7.
Hashimli rejects the charges and has declared that they are related his journalistic and human rights activities.