US Democrat Congressman James Moran has addressed a letter to the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in connection with the arrest of “Alumni Network” Youth Organization Representative Emin Milli (Abdullayev) and one of “OL” Youth Organization Coordinators, well-known video-blogger Adnan Hajizade, according to Radio Liberty. It is stated in the letter that the young bloggers were detained for their political views, and that the law system in Azerbaijan is weak; therefore there’s concern that their trial will not be conducted fairly.
On 8 July, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade were sitting at a table in “Lebonese” (Livan) restaurant along with several other young adults, when two people that looked like sportsmen came up to them, and attacked them causing physical injuries. Although they appealed to police as victims, police detained Adnan and Emin as suspected persons for 48 hours and freed the attackers. On 10 July, Sabail District Court Judge Rauf Ahmadov issued a decision under article 221.2.1 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Code to sentence Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade to two months pre-trial detention. On July 20 the Appellate Court upheld the decision of the lower court. Both Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade are being held in the Investigative Prison of Baku.