Three Witnesses Did Not Come to Court at Mustafa Hajibeyli�s Trial

Baku / 29.01.19 / Turan: On January 29, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes chaired by Sabuhi Huseynov continued the trial of the editor-in-chief of the Bastainfo.com website, Mustafa Hajibeyli.

* On July 9, the Prosecutor General"s Office opened a criminal case on the dissemination to the Internet of "false information" and "illegal appeals" in connection with the attempt on the head of Ganja Elmar Veliyev and the energy blackout in Mingachevir when almost all of Azerbaijan was left without power supply.

After that, the prosecutor's office appealed to the Ministry of Communications to block the websites Bastainfo.com, Criminalaz.com, Topxeber.az and Fia.az.

At first, Hajibeyli passed as a witness. However, on November 30, he was transferred to the status of the accused. In particular, he was charged under the Criminal Code: 281.2 (appeals against the state), 309.2 (abuse of office) and 313 (official forgery).

Regarding the editor, a preventive measure was chosen in the form of a police surveillance program.

During the meeting, the testimony of the witness Tural Hajibeyli was heard.

He testified that he did not interfere in the creative part of the work of the website, but was engaged in solving technical problems, if they arose.

Lawyer Osman Kyazimov indicated that there was no need to bring Hajibeyli as a witness.

"It is clear from the questions asked to Tural Hajibeyli and the answers that he has nothing to do with the accusation," said lawyer Osman Kyazimov.

At today's meeting, it was also supposed to hear the testimony of witnesses Zulfiya Babayeva, Arzukhanim Mammadova and Ilaha Khalidova.

According to the materials of the prosecution, these women, after reading two articles on the website Bastainfo.com, were excited and appealed to the Baku Prosecutor"s Office to take action against Hajibeyli.

Due to the absence of witnesses, the trial was postponed to February 5.

Mustafa Hajibeyli is one of the prominent opposition journalists in Azerbaijan. For more than 20 years he has worked in various media of Azerbaijan. He is also the brother of the head of the Musavat party, Arif Hajili. -03B06-