Hearings on Case of Journalists Postponed Due to Absence of Witness

Baku / 08.02.19 / Turan: In the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, a meeting on the case of the chief editor of the Criminal.az website Anar Mammadov was continued today.

At the trial it was supposed to hear the information of the witness Gulnar Muradova.

However, she did not appear and the judge decided to force her to the next meeting, which is scheduled for February 19.

Lawyer Elchin Sadigov petitioned to bring expert Bakhtiyar Aliyev as an additional witness. He gave the conclusion of the linguistic examination of the alleged "appeals against the state" in Mammadov"s publications.

The lawyer pointed out that there are incomprehensible expressions in the conclusion and there is a need to ask him questions.

The defense believes that the expert did not clarify what the "appeals against the state" were in Mammadov"s publications.

The court granted the petition.

The judge also made a warning to those present in the hall about the inadmissibility of photo and video recording.

He complained that the last time the victims were taken photos and videos which were distributed on the Internet.

Recall that on July 9, 2018, the Prosecutor General"s Office opened a criminal case on the dissemination to the Internet of "false information" and "illegal appeals" in connection with the attempt on the life of the Ganja Chief Executive Elmar Veliyev and the energy blackout in Mingachevir in the summer of 2018.

After that, the prosecutor's office appealed to the Ministry of Communications to block the websites Bastainfo.com, Criminalaz.com, Topxeber.az and Fia.az.

Then Mammadov was charged under the Criminal Code articles: 281.2 (appeals against the state), 309.2 (abuse of office) and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code, which he rejects.-03D06--