The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint project of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT), called for the release of lawyer Elchin Sadygov and journalist Avaz Zeynally.
The Observatory’s statement noted that in 2012 Zeynally was sentenced to an unfair sentence of 9 years of imprisonment and spent three years in prison. Zeynally and Sadygov were arrested on September 11 on charges of receiving a large-scale bribe and complicity in this. They denied the charges and linked the charges to their professional activities.