Imran Aliyev, manager of the meclis.info site has been brought to criminal responsibility in the case of “Abzas Media.” He was charged under the Article 206.3.2 (smuggling by prior agreement by a group of persons) the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
In the coming hours, the Khatai court of Baku will choose a preventive measure in the form of arrest. Aliyev was detained the night before at Baku airport. He immediately assumed that they wanted to involve him in the case of “Abzas Media.”
*On November 20 last year, the director of “Abzas Media” Ulvi Hasanli was detained. During a search of the company’s office, the police “found” 40 thousand euros.
On the same day, the deputy director of “Abzas Media,” Muhammad Kekalov, was detained, and on November 21, the editor-in-chief, Sevinj Vagifgizy, was detained. Sometime later, journalist Nargiz Absalyamova was arrested; on December 13, investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly was arrested, and on January 13 – Elnara Gasimova.
All of them are charged under the Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons by prior agreement), and they face from 5 to 8 years in prison. They are accused of illegally receiving grants from foreign donors.
International journalistic organizations have called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release the detained journalists and stop pressure on independent media.