Nizami District Court, chaired by judge Mazahir Sadigov, held a hearing on the hooliganism case against Elchin Hasanov, deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Yukselis.info website, and Deputy Director of the NGO Legal Education of Sumgait Youth. The criminal case against Hasanov was opened on March 3, 2016, under Article 221.1 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Case. On March 4, the case was reclassified from Article 221.1 (hooliganism) to Article 221.3 (hooliganism, committed with a weapon) of the Criminal Code. According to the indictment, Elchin Hasanov and Jafar Jafarov – previously unacquainted – insulted each other on Facebook. Following their online exchange, they met in person, and Elchin Hasanov allegedly kicked Jafar Jafarov for no reason and assaulted him with a blunt metal object unknown to the investigating authority. Hasanov’s legal representative is Fariz Namazli.
At today’s hearing, Elchin Hasanov addressed the court with final speech. He said he had not committed any crime and asked for his acquittal.
Then the judge announced the verdict. According to the verdict, Article 221.3 (hooliganism, committed with a weapon) of Criminal Code under which Elchin Hasanov was initially charged was replaced by Article 221.1, and Elchin Hasanov was sentenced to 1 year of corrective labor, meaning that 20 percent of Elchin Hasanov’s salary will be deducted for the state for one year.
Recall that the prosecutor had sought a 3.5-year jail sentence for Elchin Hasanov and his arrest in the courtroom.