The hearing on the case of Khural newspaper editor-in-chief Avaz Zeynalli initially scheduled for July 11th at Baku Grave Crimes Court under judge Ramella Allahverdiyeva was postponed.
The hearing had been appointed for July 11th 11:00am. The attendees including Avaz Zeynalli, his relatives, representatives from local and international human rights organizations and journalists had been waiting for an hour in the courtroom, when the panel of judges announced that the hearing was postponed for July 18th 11:00am due to the sickness of judge Ramella Allahverdiyeva.
Zeynalli was arrested following a lawsuit brought by MP Gular Ahmadova on October 28th. A criminal case was launched against him under Article 311.3.3 (taking a large bribe) and Article 311.3.4 (extortion). Later he faced other charges for contempt of court (Article 306) and tax evasion (Article 213.1). Local and international human rights organizations believe Zeynalli was arrested for his articles criticizing high-ranking officials.
Zeynalli was arrested following a lawsuit brought by MP Gular Ahmadova on October 28th. A criminal case was launched against him under Article 311.3.3 (taking a large bribe) and Article 311.3.4 (extortion). Later he faced other charges for contempt of court (Article 306) and tax evasion (Article 213.1). Local and international human rights organizations believe Zeynalli was arrested for his articles criticizing high-ranking officials.