Binagadi District Court, chaired by judge Rashad Aliyev, denied the motion to replace the pretrial detention of poet Saday Shakarli with house arrest. Saday Shakarli was arrested in December 2015, on charges of extorting large amount of property.
“Saday Shakarli suffers from medical conditions and is a well-known public figure. I hoped that the court would replace his pretrial detention with house arrest, but the court did not grant our motion,” said Shakarli’s lawyer, Bahruz Bayramov.
Background: Poet Saday Shakarli was arrested on December 22, 2015, reportedly when he was at the Ministry of Taxes. Some activists have drawn a connection between his arrest and his recent book, “A Wolf Heart”, which contains criticism of the authorities. Shakarli was detained for 3 months under Article 182.2.3 (extortion committed with use of violence – punishable by imprisonment of 5 to 10 years and confiscation of property) of the Criminal Code.