Azerbaijan's Supreme Court upholds anticorruption blogger's sentence
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 25 June 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Azerbaijan's Supreme Court upholds anticorruption blogger's sentence, 25 June 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5bc04fac6.html [accessed 18 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
June 25, 2018 15:21 GMT
By RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service
Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Huseynov (file photo)
BAKU – Azerbaijan's Supreme Court has upheld the two-year prison sentence to anticorruption blogger Mehman Huseynov who was convicted of libel and sentenced to two years in prison last year.
Huseynov refused to take part in the June 25 hearing in Baku in protest.
Huseynov was found guilty of libel and sentenced last year.
Huseynov has maintained his innocence and called the case against him politically motivated.
Police filed libel charges against Huseynov after he said in January 2017 that police officers had beaten him and demanded he stop his anticorruption activities.
In December 2016 and January 2017, Huseynov posted photographs of luxury homes he alleged belonged to government officials and lawmakers.
Human rights groups accuse President Ilham Aliyev's government of fabricating criminal cases to stifle dissent and media freedom in the oil-producing Caspian Sea country.
Huseynov's lawyers said they will now appeal their client's conviction with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
