Committee to Protect Hilal Mammadov will hold a rally in front of the court building

Committee to protect the rights of the arrested Hilal Mammadov, the editor of "Tolyshi sado", will hold a rally on 15 February at 11:00 am outside the Baku serious Crimes Court.  Action is against a close trial in the case of Mammadov, to express solidarity with him.

The action will be in the form of a silent picket. Its members will wear medical masks to symbolize silencing of critical voices, as well as protection of creative arbitrariness of the judicial system of Azerbaijan.

"We are concerned about the fate of Hilal Mammadov. He has been wrongly arrested, and his health also is not well. We do not want to Hilal Mammadov to suffer the fate of its predecessor, Novruzali Mammadov, who died in the prison hospital," said Mehtibek Safarov, a member of the Committee.

The meeting participants expressed their protest against the requirements of the judge on the necessity of participation of all lawyers in the trial.  According to Intigam Aliyev, the head of the Legal Enlightenment Society, the demand of the   judge is unfounded. This is due to the refusal of Mammadov to give evidence, and his appeal to the lawyers not to participate in the trial.

Therefore, the judge wants to create the visibility of following the procedure norms and protection of Mammadov’s rights.

It is also proposed to begin a hunger strike, and to organize meetings with ambassadors of foreign states. -06C-