The court refused to remove a criminal record from a journalist

Baku / 24.12.19 / Turan: The appeal of the editor of the “Basta” site, Mustafa Hajibayli, to withdraw his criminal record was rejected by the Binagadi district court of Baku on December 24.

The presence of conditional punishment does not give the journalist the right to participate in the February 9 parliamentary elections.

It should be noted that according to the decision of the Constitutional Court of January 13, 2010, a person sentenced to probation might apply to the court to remove a criminal record.

Hajibeyli will appeal.

* On July 9, 2018, the Prosecutor General’s Office  filed a lawsuit on the dissemination of “false information” and “illegal calls” on the Internet in connection with the attempt on the head of Ganja, Elmar Veliyev and the energy blackout in Mingachevir.

After that, the prosecutor’s office appealed to the Ministry of Communications to block the sites “Bastainfo.com”, “criminalaz.com”, “topxeber.az” and “fia.az”.

At first, Hajibayli passed as a witness. However, on November 30, he was transferred to the status of the accused. He was charged with appeals against the state, abuse of power and forgery. In his respect, a preventive measure was taken in the form of a transfer under police supervision.

The verdict against the journalist was condemned by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Arlem Desir, Reporters without Borders and other international organizations. -06C-