The United States disturbed by jail sentence of Afgan Mukhtarli
The United States urge the government of Azerbaijan to release Mr. Mukhtarli and all those incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms, reads the statement by the State Department released on Friday.
To remind, investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was sentenced to 6 years in prison. Mukhtarli was found guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan: trespass of the state border, trafficking and resistance to officials. The journalist himself and his lawyers had denied all the charges, claiming that the Criminal Police officers had abducted Mukhtarli in Tbilisi on 29 May and handed him over to Azerbaijan’s special services.
“We continue to closely follow the Georgian investigation into the reported abduction, and reiterate our call that it be full, transparent, and timely,” the statement said.