Blogger Jamil Mammadli faces more than 8 years in prison
On February 29, the final speech of the state prosecutor was held in the Sumgayit Serious Crimes Court in the case of blogger Jamil Mammadli. He proposed to sentence Mammadli to 8 years and 3 months in prison.
Mammadli was taken into custody in August 2023 in connection with charges against him under Articles 221.2.2 (hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior agreement), 182.2.1 (extortion by threats by a group of persons, by prior agreement of property in a significant amount) and 178.2 (fraud committed by a group of persons) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
At today’s trial, Lawler Fariz Namazli asked the court to acquit his client. He pointed out that Mammadli's guilt in committing fraud and extortion had not been proven, and according to the Article "hooliganism" the parties reached a settlement agreement. The next court hearing will be held on March 7.
According to the prosecution, in December 2022, after an accident in Khachmaz region, Mammadli inflicted bodily injuries on two people.
As for "extortion" and "fraud", it is based on the complaint of several persons. In particular, the children of Guba Gabibova, the market owner of the city, who was killed in 2010, complained about Mammadli. The applicants claim that in 2017 Mammadli called them and offered to influence the prosecutor's office to solve the crime and received 10,000 manats from them for his services. However, there is no evidence in the case confirming the transfer of this amount to Mammadli, the lawyer said.
Other victims claimed that Mammadli extorted money from them in exchange for the removal of information discrediting these people from social networks published by him.
However, the victims themselves confirmed that they did not transfer the money personally to Mammadli, but through an intermediary. This man admitted at the investigation that he received money, but he was not involved as an accused, the lawyer noted.
Mammadli previously collaborated with the Azerbaijani service of “Radio Liberty.” In recent years, he has been posting mainly on social media. At the same time, several defamation lawsuits were filed against him, including the head of the Guba region. According to these claims, Mammadli was sentenced to correctional labor. Local human rights activists recognize Mammadli as a political prisoner.
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