Politics 19:08 28/12/2015

Well-known Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadirov sentenced to 6 years in prison

Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced Rauf Mirkadyrov, a well-known Azerbaijani journalist and contributor of the newspaper Zerkalo (Mirror), to 6 years in a colony of strict regime, Azerbaijani news agency Trend reports.

According to the report, the public prosecutor earlier demanded 7 years’ imprisonment for Mirkadirov. However, during the last hearing, the prosecutor asked the court to hand down a milder punishment to the journalist in accordance with the Article 62 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, which offers a milder punishment for that concrete crime. The investigation was conducted by the Ministry of National Security.

Minval.az reports that Mirkadirov was charged under the Article 274 (high treason) of the Criminal Code. He is accused of taking part in the joint projects of the Institute for Peace of Democracy with the civil society groups of Armenia, and providing information supposed to be state secret during those events. The journalist denies the charge. Rights defenders consider him a political prisoner.

According to the website, the journalist’s deportation from Turkey to Azerbaijan, where he was immediately arrested on charges of espionage, drove the observers to maintain that Ankara and Baku might have been agreed on silencing their political opponents. When the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visited Baku in March, the Turkish media reported about a dossier allegedly handed to the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev which included the names of the Turkish citizens residing in Azerbaijan, who were to be arrested. Those reports were about the supporters of the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, who lives in the US. The Turkish authorities struggle against him both inside their country and abroad.

Rauf Mirkadyrov worked as a correspondent of the newspaper Zerkalo in Turkey. The Turkish authorities unexpectedly said he was deprived of the permission to work and had to leave the country immediately. According to the journalist, his pen fell ‘victim to a deal between Turkey and Azerbaijan.’

Minval.az further notes that Mirkadirov is not the only Azerbaijani journalist to be deported from Turkey. Mahir Zeynalov, well-known contributor for the Today's Zaman daily, which is connected to Fethullah Gullen, was deported to Azerbaijan for unknown reasons in February.

Turan agency reports that the international community regards Mirkadirov as a prisoner of conscience as the real reason for his arrest was the authorities’ intention to convince the public of the spying and wrecking activities of Leyla Yunus, the rights defender, in whose projects Mirkadirov took part. According to the accusation, it were Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif who ‘recruited’ Rauf Mirkadirov as an Armenian spy. The charge of state treason against the couple was sent to separate proceedings, and they were sentenced on economic accusations. Consequently, their punishment was changed to conditional.

According to Report agency, Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on pardoning a number of sentenced individuals. Azay Guliyev, an MP from the commission on pardoning, said the decree was signed taking into account the appeals for pardoning addressed to the president by a number of sentenced people and their family members, authorised human rights representatives and organisations, as well as the individuals themselves, their health, family situation, their behaviour while serving the prison term, basing on the principles of humanism, in accordance with the 22nd item of the Article 109 of the Constitution of the Azerbaijani Republic. The pardoning list includes 210 people.
Meanwhile, Haqqin.az writes that the list of the convicts, pardoned by the presidential decree, included none of the political prisoners, on whose release the US Department of State, Council of Europe and other international groups insist.

On 23 December, a working group for compiling a comprehensive list of political prisoners issued a consecutive list of the Azerbaijani citizens regarded as political prisoners in the country. The list had 93 names, including well-known rights defenders, journalists, bloggers, political activists, religious leaders and others.



Source Panorama.am
Share |

Related news

Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:03
Raúl among potential candidates for Armenia manager
Raúl is being considered among the potential candidates for the new head coach of Armenia’s national football team, Armen...
16:46
Putin reiterates Russia's commitment to normalizing Armenian-Azeri relations
Moscow is doing all it can to help relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia to normalize and sees these countries as its natural strategic...
16:30
Colder weather ahead in Armenia
Clear weather is expected in Armenia’s regions on Tuesday and in the next few days. Strong winds of up to 25 m/s are forecast for some...
16:12
Nearly 58% of survey respondents dissatisfied with Pashinyan's performance
According to a Gallup International Association survey, nearly 58% of respondents are dissatisfied with Armenian Prime Minister...
15:31
Global prayer for Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan on the eve of COP29
On the initiative of His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, an ecumenical (global) prayer for peace and justice in Armenia and the...
15:15
Putin receives credentials from new Armenian ambassador
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday received letters of credence from 28 newly arrived foreign ambassadors, including Armenian...
14:43
Azerbaijan has no plans to leave Armenian territories, MP claims
MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition Pativ Unem faction has called attention to the discussion on the sequence of border sections for...
14:05
Georgian travel agency deletes post on Armenia's Lori, unavailable on president's page
Georgian travel agency Adjara Voyage has deleted its social media post describing Armenia's Lori Province as “historical...
13:35
EU officials visited Armenia for visa liberalization talks, deputy FM says
EU officials have travelled to Armenia for visa liberalization talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan said on Tuesday....
13:15
Greta Thunberg boycotts COP29 in Baku
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has announced her decision to boycott the upcoming COP29 climate summit, set to take place in Baku,...
12:59
UN court to deliver judgment on Armenia v. Azerbaijan case on November 12
On Tuesday 12 November, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its...
12:33
Opposition MP asks to postpone independence declaration debates
Opposition Hayastan faction MP Gegham Manukyan on Tuesday asked a parliamentary committee to postpone debates on a statement defending...
12:03
Senator Markey: COP29 should be used to hold Azerbaijan accountable for war crimes
U.S. Senator Ed Markey insists that COP29 should be used to hold the Azerbaijani government accountable for its war crimes....
11:34
Armenia appoints new justice minister
Srbuhi Galyan has been appointed Armenia’s new justice minister. President President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed a relevant decree...
11:15
Iranian leader to attend COP29 in Baku
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the COP29 UN climate summit in Baku, the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan reported....
11:02
Armenian ambassador says he received death threats from Azeri counterpart in Brussels
The Armenian Embassy has lodged a formal protest with other diplomatic missions in Brussels after its ambassador claimed to have been on the...
17:02
Footballer killed by lightning strike at match in Peru
A football player in Peru has died and more have suffered injuries after being struck by lightning during a match on Sunday afternoon, the Daily...
16:46
On the trail of a post about Lori shared by Georgian president
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili shared on Facebook a post by a Georgian travel agency offering tours to Armenia’s Lori Province on...
16:05
Parliament speaker names ruling party's candidate for Gyumri mayor
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party has picked Karen Sarukhanyan, a former governor of Shirak Province, as its candidate for the next...
15:42
Pashinyan criticized for failure to congratulate Moldova's president on re-election
Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist who heads the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly-Vanadzor, on Monday criticized Prime Minister Nikol...
15:07
Car crash in Armenia leaves one dead, three wounded
A tragic car crash in Armenia’s Aragatsotn Province on Monday left one person killed and three others injured. The Rescue Service...
14:36
Yerevan mayor says his 'good looks' could make him a target for corruption rumors
Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan denied allegations of corrupt practices involving him as defamation.  “I guess my good looks...
14:14
Putin to accept credentials from new Armenian envoy on Tuesday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive the letters of credence from 28 newly arrived foreign ambassadors, including Armenian...
13:45
Legendary music producer Quincy Jones dies at 91
Quincy Jones, a titan of American entertainment who worked with stars from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson and Will Smith, has died aged...
13:30
Rain expected in some parts of Armenia on Monday
Rain is forecast for some parts of Armenia on Monday, with snow set to hit the country’s mountainous areas. Clear weather is expected...
13:04
At least 10 killed after volcano erupts in Indonesia
At least 10 people have been killed after a volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia in the early hours of Monday, BBC News reports, citing local...
12:46
ICRC visits Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan
Employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan in October this year....
12:26
Spanish king pelted with eggs in flood-hit Valencia
Angry residents booed and threw eggs at Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia as they visited the Valencia region, where more than 200...
12:10
Political analyst: Azerbaijan sitting on the twine
Political analyst Stepan Danielyan has weighed in on the latest developments regarding the Ukraine conflict. In a social media post on...
11:35
Tatoyan Foundation working to expose Azerbaijan's lies about Artsakh
Specialists of the Tatoyan Foundation are doing extensive work to expose the false Azerbaijani narratives about Armenia and Artsakh...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}