Prosecutor Asks to Sentence Journalist to Seven Years in Prison

Baku / 05.12.17 / Turan: The public prosecutor, who proposed to sentence Aziz Orujov, head of the TV Channel-13, to seven years in prison, spoke at the Baku Grave Crimes Court.

The prosecutor said the brothers Anar and Aziz Orujov violated the Grant Law: "They cashed in large sums, removing them from the account of the NGO Caucasus Research Media Center.

However, the grant agreements with foreign donors were not registered with the Ministry of Justice. However, the contracts cannot be considered a grant, as the funds were used to make a profit.

At the same time, taxes were not paid, which was confirmed by the examination. In addition, an amount exceeding 35,000 manats was transferred to the personal account of the accused, from which taxes were not paid," the prosecutor said.

According to the prosecutor, the guilt of Aziz Orujov "is fully proved in court". He asked the court to sentence the journalist to 7 years imprisonment and to deprive him of the right to hold managerial positions for 3 years.

The lawyer Alibaba Rzayev, who attended the trial, citing the absence of two other lawyers, Elchin Sadygov and Javad Javadov, asked for time to prepare for the speech. The court granted this motion and appointed the next meeting on December 12.

Aziz Orujov was prosecuted in the criminal case against local and foreign NGOs in 2014. He is charged under articles 192.2.2 (illegal business with large profits) and 308.2 (misuse of official powers with grave consequences) of the Criminal Code.

The maximum penalty for these items is imprisonment for up to 8 years. -0--