On 3 April Baku Grave Crimes Court held another closed hearing on the case of Tolishy Sado newspaper editor Hilal Mammadov. Judge Azer Orujov presided over the hearing. In his interview with IRFS (Oyektiv.tv) journalist’s lawyer Khalid Bagirov said that main witness in Mammadov’s case, Elman Guliyev, attended the hearing and provided his testimony.
“The witness answered Hilal Mammadov’s questions as to how he found out that Mammadov was a drug dealer and spy. Witness’s answers to these questions were too vague. Guliyev could not justify why he had not revealed the alleged information(*Mammadov being a drug dealer & agent) to law enforcement agencies when he was arrested in 2007 together with journalist Novruzali Mammadov (*the then editor of Tolishy Sado- died in 2009). Therefore I consider his claims to be absurd. Hilal Mammadov was arrested on these obviously false allegations and is accused of drug possession and treason” said the lawyer.
The next hearing on Mammadov’s case will be held on April 10, at 10:30am.
Note that journalist Hilal Mammadov is charged with illegal possession of drugs in large quantities (Article 234.4.3/Criminal Code), treason (Article 274/Criminal Code), and incitement of national, racial, social and religious hatred, hostility and ethnic discrimination (Article 283/Criminal Code).