Blogger Rashad Ramazanov is sentenced to nine years in prison

Trial in the case of the blogger Ramazanov Rashad (Rashad Agaadin) , accused of drug trafficking  finished today Baku Serious Crimes Court.

Ramazanov denied the accusation and said that he was being persecuted for political reasons for his critical writing on the social network facebook.com. His lawyer, Azer Naghiyev, also said that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of Ramazanov. According to the lawyer, all charges are based on allegations of police. Naghiyev noted that the investigation did not establish the source of drugs from Ramazanov, if he really had one. " There was not even a search at Rashad’s home," said Naghiyev.

However, a judge sentenced a blogger to nine years in prison, finding him guilty under Article of the Criminal Code 234.4.3 (illegal possession and sale of a large scale of drugs), the maximum penalty for which is 12  years in prison.

Earlier, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Rashad to 10 years in prison.

Ramazanov was arrested on May 9 at the metro station "20 January." Police stated allegedly  that Ramazanov  had  nine  grams  of heroin. However, the Ramazanov denied the accusation , saying that the drugs were planted on political grounds. The blogger  is known for sharp criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities  in the facebook. On his page on facebook Rashad Heqiqet Ağaaddin wrote the articles and placed the status on the themes of religion, freedom and justice.

In particular, he spoke ironically about the candidacy of Ilham Aliyev to the presidency for a third time, noting that he probably wants to get into the Guinness Book of Records.

He calls the Azerbaijani authorities “a diabolical Aliyev’s regime.”

It is noteworthy that after his arrest for 10 days , in violation of the law , he was kept in  the prison of the Interior Ministry, and only after the intervention of human rights activists and the press he  was transferred to the detention center of the Prison Service. --16B06--