An appeal has been filed against the court order to arrest the journalist and human rights activist Parviz Hashimli, his lawyer Elchin Sadiqov has told the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS). “In the appeal we have requested the revocation of the detention decision” said Sadiqov. “We also expressed our complaint against the searches carried out in Parviz Hashimli’s house and in the Bizim Yol newspaper’s and moderator.az website’s offices”.
The lawyer also noted that he was denied a meeting with Hashimli in the Ministry of National Security’s detention center, with an excuse that they have not yet received his meeting request letter.
Just to note that yesterday the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists in a statement denounced the arrest of Parviz Hashimli, editor of the independent news website Moderator.az and a reporter for the independent newspaper Bizim Yol.
Background: Bizim Yol (Our Way) newspaper journalist Parviz Hashimli, who is also the director and editor of moderator.az news website and the Chairman of the Center for Protection of Political and Civil Rights, was detained on September 17 by employees of the Ministry of National Security. On September 18 the journalist was handed down a two-month pretrial detention sentence by the Sabail District Court under two articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code: Article 206.3.2 (smuggling of firearms on preliminary arrangement by an organized group) and 228.2.1 (illegal obtaining, storing, carrying firearms and their spare parts on preliminary arrangement by an organized group).