The Court of Appeal remanded Aziz Orujev in custody
On July 2, the Baku Court of Appeal considered the complaint of the head of Kanal 13 Internet television, Aziz Orujev, against the extension of the arrest. The complaint was filed by the decision of the Sabail court of June 25 to extend the term of arrest of Orujev and an employee of this media, Shamo Eminov, for another 3 months until September 27.
According to lawyer Fahraddin Mehdiyev, Orujev declared the illegality of his arrest and detention at the trial. The journalist recalled that he was initially arrested on charges of "unauthorized construction of a house."
At the same time, he pointed out that in Azerbaijan it is extremely rare for anyone to be brought to criminal responsibility in such cases, and even more so no one is subjected to pre-trial detention. A.Orujev also pointed out the unfounded accusations of "smuggling of foreign currency", which are not supported by reliable evidence.
A.Orujev stated that the criminal case was fabricated and he was being prosecuted for his journalistic activities. However, the Court of Appeal did not satisfy his complaint. Lawyer Mehdiyev stressed that the defense intends, in connection with the extension of the arrest period, to send materials to the European Court of Human Rights in addition to the previously filed complaint against the arrest of the journalist.
Consideration of the appeal of another person involved in this case, Shamo Eminov, will take place on July 3, his lawyer Elchin Sadigov told Turan.
Aziz Orujev and Shamo Eminov were arrested in November-December 2023 on charges of smuggling currency as part of an organized group. Both deny the charges, considering their journalistic activities to be the true reason for the arrest.
Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, the European Federation of Journalists and a number of other local and international human rights organizations, as well as the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, PACE speakers called on Baku to stop pressure on independent media and release the arrested journalists.
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