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Relatives of Azerbaijani bloggers Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli have addressed a letter to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, requesting her attention to the issue of the arrested bloggers during her upcoming visit to Azerbaijan, Turan reported.

The letter particularly says Azerbaijani bloggers Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli (Abdullayev) are still held behind bars under falsified “hooliganism” charges, paying a high price for their civic activism and pro-democracy views.

The letter recalls that the attack on Hajizada and Milli and their subsequent arrest and imprisonment have been universally condemned by the international community. The US State Department and the US Embassy in Baku expressed strong concerns about this issue. This case was discussed in U.S. Congress, British Parliament, Council of Europe, United Nations, OSCE and European Union. Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada have been recognized as “prisoners of consciousness” by Amnesty International.

The relatives also informed the State secretary that protest actions to release the jailed bloggers have been organized all over the world. In spite of the numerous calls for their release, the Azerbaijani authorities conducted what has been deemed by the observers a sham trial, violating Azerbaijan’s own laws and the country’s international obligations, and sentenced Adnan Hajizada to two and Emin Milli to two and a half years.

The letter urged the US official to publicly raise this issue during your trip to Azerbaijan and call for the release of Hajizada and Milli in her discussions with the Azerbaijani President.

Note that the US State secretary Hillary Clinton is expected to visit Baku in mid-July.