Seymour Hazy Verdict to Be Appealed to ECHR (UPDATED)

The Supreme Court decision in the case of the journalist Seymour Hazy will be appealed with the European Court of Human Rights. Turan was told by his lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev.

Today, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Hazy, who was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment on charges of hooliganism.

Note that the case was heard in the absence of Hazy.

The lawyer Adil Ismayilov submitted an appeal on ensuring Hazy participation in the process, but the judge Ilham Jafarov said the convicted person should personally write a statement.

The lawyer's message that the administration of Prison No 17 does not send Hazy’s letters to the Supreme Court had no effect on the judges.

The lawyer noted that the defense in the appeal asks to justify Hazy because his actions did not include any bullying, and he was the victim of a provocation.

So, at the bus stop in the village Jeyranbatan he was approached by a man unknown to him and asked why he did not respond to his posts on Facebook. Hazy said he might not see them. In response the stranger punched him. To protect himself, Hazy hit him with a bottle of water that was in his hand.

Later it was learned that Hasanov had no idea about Facebook and he could not answer from what profile he wrote to Hazy.

The lawyer said that Hasanov was prosecuted for hooliganism.

"If he committed hooliganism, the response of Hazy could not be bullying because he was forced to defend himself," said Ismayilov.

He further noted that, given the realities of Azerbaijan, the judges cannot justify Hazy.

Nevertheless it, the court may mitigate the punishment and release Hazy.

He pointed to the case when the Prosecutor General Zakir Garalov in his letter to the Plenum of the Supreme Court in the case of the human rights defender Intigam Aliyev noted the need to consider the accused man's character and circumstances of the criminal case.

In this regard, Ismayilov said Hazy served in the army as an officer, he is a displaced person from the Lachin region, a journalist, and he served nearly a 2-year prison sentence.

Another lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev also noticed that Hazy is a well-known journalist, intellectual, writing on the theme of policy and international relations. In addition, he enjoys the confidence of the local and international community and is recognized as a "prisoner of conscience".

However, the court after a brief meeting dismissed the appeal and upheld the verdict.

The lawyer Mehdiyev in an interview with Turan called the court's decision unreasonable, illegal and unjust. According to him, the verdict will be filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The first complaint in this case - on the unlawful arrest - has already been submitted to the Strasbourg Court. -06D-