On March 5th Nasimi District Court, presided over by Judge Elman Ahmadov, heard the petition filed by the arrested journalist of Yeni Musavat newspaper and deputy chairman of the Musavat Party, Tofig Yagublu. The court denied the journalist’s request for his pretrial detention sentence to be replaced by house arrest. The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) was informed about it by the journalist’s lawyer Akif Alizadeh.
The lawyer added that the defense will appeal against this decision.
Background: Tofig Yagublu was arrested on February 4th 2013, for allegedly attempting to undermine the socio-political stability in Ismayilli region by calling on local people 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 original decision was denied by the Baku Appeals Court on February 8.