Journalist Ali Zeynal pressurized in court building

Journalist Ali Zeynal, arrested in the 'Toplum TV' case, was subjected to physical pressures in the Baku Court of Appeal building on 10 October, his lawyer Fariz Namazly said.

Recall that Zeynal was brought to the court at 11.00 am and was held in handcuffs and standing on his feet for 1.5 hours before the hearing of his appeal against the extension of his arrest.

The journalist's colleagues believe that such treatment was revenge for his speech at the previous court session on 3 October, when he said he was arrested on ‘Ilham Aliyev's order’ and did not expect ‘justice’ from the court.

The day before, the Baku Court of Appeal rejected Ali Zeynal's appeal against the extension of his arrest, as well as the defendants in the case of ‘Toplum TV’: journalists Mushfig Jabbar, activists Akif Gurbanov, Ruslan Izzatli, Ramil Babayev and Ilkin Amrakhov.

*On 6-8 March, 9 journalists and activists from 'Toplum TV' and its partner organisation, the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, were detained. They were accused of smuggling foreign currency. Seven were arrested and two placed under police supervision.

Note that the defendants in the case deny the charges. Human rights activists recognised those arrested as political prisoners.

On 4 October, the International Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the extension of arrests in Azerbaijan in recent weeks of 11 journalists from 4 media outlets - 'Abzas Media', 'Toplum TV', 'Kanal-13' and 'Meclis.info'.