Appeal court fails to release Ulvi Hasanli

Baku/27.11.23/Turan: On Monday, the Baku Court of Appeal rejected an appeal against the arrest of Ulvi Hasanli, director of "Abzas Media" online publication, accused of foreign currency smuggling.

Lawyer Zibeyda Sadigova told reporters that the defence had asked the court to cancel the arrest decision because there were no legal grounds for bringing Hasanli to criminal responsibility.

Hasanli himself also denied the charge as saying he was being prosecuted on trumped-up charges.

Hasanli and another defendant in the case, editor-in-chief Seninj Vagifgyzy, are prevented from telephone communication and meetings with family members.

The lawyers intend to file a separate complaint on this issue as well.

Also, Vagifgyzy filed a complaint about the violation of the presumption of innocence by the "Report" agency, which presented Vagifgyzy and Hasanli as having committed a crime, although the investigation has just begun. According to defence lawyer Fariz Namazly, the appeal court did not satisfy this complaint either.

Recall that *Vagifgyzy, "Abzas Media" director Ulvi Hasanli and activist Mohammad Kekalov were detained on 20-21 November. They were charged under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons) of the Criminal Code.

They denied the charges, international organisations called for the release of the arrested. -0-