The court sentenced the editor of the site "Demokratik.az " to 6.5 years of imprisonment

On Thursday, the Ganja Serious Crimes Court sentenced the editor of the website "Demokratik.az "Osman Narimanoglu (Rzayev), accused of extortion. The state prosecutor asked to sentence him to 8 years in prison, the wife of journalist Arzu Rzayev told Turan.

Osman claimed that the charges were falsified in order to punish him for journalistic publications and exposing official corruption. The defense asked to acquit Rzayev due to the lack of evidence of his guilt. Nevertheless, the court sentenced the editor to 6.5 years. The defense intends to appeal.

Osman Narimanoglu was arrested on July 5, 2022 on charges of extortion. After his arrest, he stated that the accusations were false, that he had been slandered by officials of the Melioration Department and doctors of the Goranboy and Goygol regions, about whose corruption the site published materials. Human rights activists recognized Osman Narimanoglu as a political prisoner.