An appeal has been filed against the decision to extend the arrest of public activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev. This was reported to Turan by his lawyer Shahla Humbatova.
On 20 April Khatayi court granted the request of the investigator to extend Hajiyev’s arrest by two more months – until 28 June.
The defence considers the arguments of the investigation that being free, Hajiyev could hide and put pressure on witnesses to be untenable.
Hajiyev himself denied the charges, noting at the April 20 court session that he had appealed to the President of Azerbaijan and the head of the Interior Ministry for assistance in his release.
*Bakhtiyar Hajiyev was arrested on 9 December last year on charges of hooliganism and contempt of court. On the same day, the Khatayi district court arrested him for 1 month and 20 days.
On December 15, Hajiyev went on hunger strike demanding his release. He ended the hunger strike on 28 December after persistent calls from members of the public and family. However, on 9 January, after an appeals court refused to release him from custody, he resumed the hunger strike, which continues to this day.
On January 21, the court extended Hajiyev’s detention for another month, and on February 23, Khatayi court extended the sentence for another two months to April 28.
Note that the courts did not grant numerous petitions by lawyers to change Gadzhiev’s extreme preventive measure to house arrest or bail before the start of the judicial investigation.
On 28 February, on the 51st day of the hunger strike, Hajiyev ended his hunger strike.
Representatives of the US State Department, the US Senate, the European Union, the Council of Europe and several international NGOs have repeatedly called for Hajiyev’s release from detention.