Fatima Movlamli, arrested in the “Meydan TV case,” writes from pre-trial detention:
“Today, the term of my pre-trial detention, chosen in the ‘Meydan TV case,’ was extended by another 3 months.
I am sharing with you the text of my speech delivered during the process presided over by Judge Rafael Sadiqov:
Both the prosecution and you, judges, are well aware that I have been arrested for my journalistic activities. You have no legal basis to keep me in custody.
The 13,500 euros allegedly found in my home, and the witnesses who were waiting inside the police car when the money was being documented, were all brought by the police themselves.
I have been unjustly imprisoned for 4 months. Now you are extending this period further. So be it.
But remember, while history will individually record the names and stories of us, independent journalists who have been slandered and imprisoned, you will be remembered as a handful of malicious and subservient individuals.
I am proud of my profession, the work I do, and my colleagues with whom I now share the same prison. The name ‘smuggler’ will not stick to us!
The truth is that the biggest smuggler, the patron of smugglers, and the one who ordered our arrest is personally Ilham Aliyev himself!
Now, I am returning from the Khatai District Court to the Baku Investigative Isolator with a clear conscience and faith in better days. This faith does not stem from blind optimism.
My faith is based on the hardship-filled past of Azerbaijan’s independent press. Just as the independent press has reached today, having overcome severe censorship, arrests, death threats, and deaths, it will emerge honorably from the current mass repressions into tomorrow.
As long as they cannot imprison the word, independent media will not cease to exist.
Our cameras, confiscated by the police today, will again be used tomorrow to shed light on the truth.
Until then, write on our behalf and do not let us be forgotten.
JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME!”
Fatima Movlamli Baku Investigative Isolator