Today, 16 July, in the Nasimi District Court, under the chairmanship of Judge Ikram Shirinov, a hearing was conducted on a lawsuit filed by “Azadlig” Newspaper correspondent Agil Khalil, in connection with a court decision to dismiss the criminal case on the beating of Khalil on 22 February in “Zeytun Baglari” (Olive Gardens).
Khalil’s lawyer Elchin Sadigov told the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety that during the closed hearing, state prosecutor Alamdat Mammedov asked that Khalil’s lawsuit not be fulfilled.
In his lawsuit, Khalil is seeking the re-opening of the criminal case on his beating. The case was dismissed on 21 May 2008 despite video and photographic evidence of the incident.
The next hearing on this case has been scheduled for tomorrow 17 July at 10 a.m. According to Sadigov, the court’s decision will be announced in tomorrow’s hearing.
Video footage of Khalil being beat:
An interview given by Khalil after the incident: