BCA upholds verdict to Polad Aslanov

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) upheld the verdict of guilty to journalist Polad Aslanov. The sentenced journalist claimed that he would continue his hunger strike in protest against the unjustified criminal prosecution.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 16, 2020, the court sentenced Polad Aslanov, the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani Internet editions "Xeberman.com" and "Press-az.com", to 16 years of freedom deprivation under the treason case. On February 1, 2021, Aslanov went on a hunger strike.

Today, pleadings in court have taken place during a trial at the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) chaired by Gasan Akhmedov. "Despite the trial was held with open doors, correspondents of the media were not allowed into the courtroom," Gyulmira Aslanova, a spouse of the sentenced journalist, informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The woman noted that advocate Elchin Sadygov delivered a lengthy speech at the trial and called on the Court to acquit Polad Aslanov.

"The advocate pointed to the unfounded charges in the case. According to the prosecutors' version, by an order of the Iranian special services, Polad Aslanov was writing materials discrediting the law enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan. However, as the advocate pointed out, the Polad's posts were not subjected to a politological expertise. My husband exposed the corruption of officials and law enforcers, but they (authorities) are not able to distinguish between the state and the government," the journalist's spouse said.

Gyulmira Aslanova said that the journalist himself also denied the charges. The spouse of the journalist added that he felt not well during the trial.

The woman has also explained that, according to her husband' claim, he had no choice but to try to achieve justice by hunger strike.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 15, 2021 at 06:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.