Today Nasimi district court of Baku granted the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office for extension of the pretrial detention term of the chairman of Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, Anar Mammadli for three months.
Anar Mammadli will stay in pretrial detention until June 16.
According to Fariz Namazli, the lawyer of the human rights defender, the defense will make an appeal against the decision and also file a motion for replacement of Mammadli’s pretrial detention with house arrest.
Background: Anar Mammadli was detained on December 16. He is charged under three articles of the Criminal Code: 192.2.2 (implementation of business activity without registration with extraction of income in the large size), 213.1 (evasion of a physical person from payment of taxes or other obligatory payments in significant amount), and 308.2 (abuse of power in order to influence the outcome of the election/referendum). On December 16, Nasimi district court sentenced him to 3 months in pretrial detention. The case is investigated by the Department on Investigation of Serious Crimes under the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Amnesty International has recognized Mammadli as a prisoner of conscience. Numerous international and local human rights organizations have called for his immediate release.