Poet Saday Shakarli has been transferred from Baku Detention Center to Prison #15 before the court verdict against him took effect, poet’s lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev told the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS).
Saday Shakarli was arrested on December 23, 2015 and is 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 revelatory, discrediting and fictitious articles and to disseminate defamatory information about a senior official of the Ministry of Taxes on the mass media. Saday Shakarli was sentenced to 10 years in jail by Baku Grave Crimes Court’s verdict of May 16, 2016.
Fakhraddin Mehdiyev says Baku Grave Crimes Court’s verdict against Saday Shakarli has been appealed and therefore has not become effective.
“According to Article 67.1 of the Code of Execution of Punishments, persons sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a fixed term or life imprisonment are sent to the penitentiary institution to serve their sentence within ten days of receipt of a copy of the judgment and a writ on its implementation from the remand center management. During that period the convict is entitled to a short meeting with close relatives. As you can see, Saday Shakarli’s transfer to prison before the court judgment’s entry into force is absolutely unlawful. I hope the Penitentiary Service will clarify the issue in a short time and this law violation committed against Saday Shakarli will be rectified soon,” the lawyer added.