29 August 2009, 10:00
Azerbaijani Ombudsperson does not exclude amicable agreement on bloggers' case
On Friday, August 28, Elmira Suleimanova, Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan, had a meeting at the Baku pre-trial prison with young bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Gadjizade, accused of hooliganism. According to Ms Suleimanova, she had applied to respective bodies on settling the case by amicable agreement of the parties, and this "issue remains in the focus."
As written in the message of the Ombudsperson's press service that has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the young men told Suleimanova that they were not guilty, and the completed investigation on their case was biased. At the same time, they agreed to have the case settled through amicable agreement.
Isakhan Ashurov, Adnan Gadjizade's advocate, making his comments on the Ombudsperson's statement, gave a positive reference to Suleimanova's initiative. "But the bloggers' case is certainly political, since they were attracted as defendants, while in fact they were victims," Mr Ashurov said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
He reminded that bloggers' rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of Azerbaijan and the European Convention of Human Rights, had been broken from the very beginning. Thus, the young men after detention were not provided with advocates and necessary medical aid.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
