The Supreme Court reduced the term of imprisonment of Elchin Ismailly by 2 years

Baku / 20.11.18 / Turan: The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan today considered the cassation appeal of the journalist Elchin Ismayilli.

During the trial, chaired by Imran Hajigaibov, lawyer Elchin Sadigov claimed that his client was innocent.

He said that there is no evidence of guilt in the case.

The lawyer drew attention to the fact that the victims had previously testified that the Ismailli had not extorted money from them, and they did not consider themselves victims.

Prosecutor Jovdet Mehraliyev, however, insisted that lower courts proved Ismayilli"s guilt.

In the end, the court dropped the charges under Art. 308 (abuse of power) and 311. (receiving a bribe) of the Criminal Code. At the same time, the judging panel confirmed Ismayilli"s conviction under the Article 182 (extortion by threats).

Taking into account the removal of two articles, the court reduced the sentence from 9 to 7 years.

The defense intends to file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.

On September 18, 2017, the Sheki Court of Grave Crimes sentenced Ismayilli to 9 years in prison, found him guilty under the Article 182 (extortion by threats), 308 (abuse of power) and 311. (receiving a bribe) of the Criminal Code,

Ismayilli was arrested on February 17. According to the investigation, he allegedly extorted money from district officials, threatening to publish incriminating materials. Ismailly collaborated with various independent media outlets and covered economic and social issues in the Ismayilli region. Recently, before his arrest, he was the editor of kend.info, which is published in the Ismayilli region.

Human rights activists recognized Ismayilli as a political prisoner. -21C ----