2014 prison census - Azerbaijan: Hilal Mamedov
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 17 December 2014 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, 2014 prison census - Azerbaijan: Hilal Mamedov, 17 December 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54980529c.html [accessed 5 June 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. |
| Hilal Mamedov, Talyshi Sado | |
|---|---|
| Medium: | |
| Charge: | Retaliatory, Anti-state |
| Imprisoned: | June 21, 2012 |
Baku police detained Mamedov, editor of the minority newspaper Talyshi Sado (Voice of the Talysh), on June 21, 2012, alleging they had found drugs, about five grams of heroin, in his pocket, the Azeri-language service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Following his arrest, Baku police declared that they had found an additional 30 grams of heroin in Mamedov's home, which they searched the same day, news reports said. A day later, a district court in Baku ordered Mamedov imprisoned for three months before trial on drug possession charges, the reports said. Mamedov's family claimed police had planted the drugs, and his colleagues said they believed the editor had been targeted in retaliation for his reporting, the reports said.
Talyshi Sado covered issues affecting the Talysh ethnic minority group in Azerbaijan. Mamedov's articles have been published in Talyshi Sado and on regional and Russia-based news websites, according to Emin Huseynov, director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety. Huseynov told CPJ that Mamedov had investigated the 2009 death in prison of Novruzali Mamedov, Talyshi Sado's former chief editor.
In July 2012, authorities lodged another set of charges against Mamedov, including treason and incitement to ethnic and religious hatred, news reports said. Azerbaijan's interior ministry said in a statement that Mamedov had undermined the country's security in his articles for Talyshi Sado, in interviews with the Iranian broadcaster Sahar TV, and in unnamed books that he was alleged to have translated and distributed. The statement also denounced domestic and international protests against Mamedov's imprisonment and said the journalist had used his office to spy for Iran.
In September 2013, Mamedov was convicted on charges of drug possession, treason, and incitement to ethnic and religious hatred, and was sentenced to five years in jail, regional press reported. His trial was marred by procedural violations, and authorities failed to back up their charges with credible evidence, news reports said.
Local human rights defenders said they believe the conviction was in retaliation for Mamedov's criticism of the authorities' failure to investigate the death in custody of Novruzali Mamedov. News reports said Novruzali Mamedov had been denied adequate medical treatment for several illnesses. After his death, human rights and press freedom groups including CPJ repeatedly called in vain for an independent investigation into his death.
According to the independent regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel, the court ruled that Hilal Mamedov was to serve his sentence in a strict penal colony. Mamedov was being held at Prison No. 17, outside Baku, according to an August 2014 report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan by a group of lawyers, human rights defenders, and non-governmental organizations.
In June 2014, Azerbaijan's Supreme Court denied Mamedov's appeal, the report said. His lawyers told local journalists that they were planning to file another appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
