Supreme Court Partially Grants Complaint of Journalist Javid Shiraliyev

Baku / 27.12.17 / Turan: The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan partially satisfied the cassation appeal of the editor of the portal 7gun.az Javid Shiraliyev, sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. The Supreme Court has decided to return the case for reconsideration of the Gandja Court of Appeal.

Though the Supreme Court"s verdict was adopted as far back as September 27, its text has arrived at the applicant only now. Turan was told about this by the journalist"s mother.

In his turn, Lawyer Bahruz Bayramov noted the defense raised the issue of the complete cessation of the case on acquittal.

In his view, the Supreme Court"s decision is connected with numerous violations during the preliminary investigation and at lower levels.

Recall that the editor of 7gun.az Javid Shiraliyev was sentenced on May 22, 2016 by the Gandja court for grave crimes on charges of extortion by threats (articles 182.2.1 and 182.2.4 of the Criminal Code).

Shiraliyev was detained by officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on August 30, 2014 and charged that, in collusion with Asif Orujov in June 2013 he extorted 2,000 manats from Shafiga Khankishiyeva, threatening to spread compromising material about her and her café in the village of Govlar, Tovuz region. In fact, the defense presented a document from the tax department that such a café was not at all in the Tovuz region.

It should be noted that at the end of December 2012 Javid Shiraliyev was persecuted after he reported to the media that the rights of the poet Bakhtiyar Hidayat were violated at the border bridge Krasny Most (Red Bridge) on December 23.

According to the defense, the court could not prove Shiraliyev's guilt and all the testimonies are based on the statements of one person - Shafiga Khankishiyeva, who has problems with justice.

The Institute of Peace and Democracy, the Alliance Azerbaijan without Political Prisoners and the Center for Monitoring Political Prisoners included Shiraliyev in the list of 158 political prisoners of Azerbaijan. -06D-