New charges have been brought against the arrested chief editor of the xeber44.com news website, Araz Guliyev, as reported to the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety by the journalist’s lawyer Fariz Namazli.
According to the lawyer, the previous hooliganism charge against Guliyev has been replaced by five new charges, under Article 228.1 (illegal possession of fire arms), Article 233 (violation of public order), Article 283.1 (inciting national, racial, ethnic or religious animosity and hostility), Article 315.2 (resistance and violence against a representative of the authority) and Article 324 (insulting the national flag or emblem of the Azerbaijan Republic)
Araz Guliyev rejects the charges, claiming that he was arrested for his journalistic and religious activities. Moreover, according to the results of expert analysis, Guliyev had criticized the government and incited hostility among people in his articles published on xeber44.com website, said lawyer Fariz Namazli.
Araz Guliyev was arrested on September 8th on charges of attempting to prevent an international folklore festival in Masalli region, and causing bodily harm to ordinary people and police officers.