Baku / 12.06.19 / Turan: On Wednesday, June 12, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced the chief editor of the Realliq.info website Ikram Rahimov to 5 years 6 months in prison. The court found him guilty under Article 182.2.2 (extortion by threats) of the Criminal Code. The indictment stated that Rahimov extorted money from various individuals through blackmail on the "racketeering" websites he had created.
Rahimov in the last word pleaded not guilty. He stated that he was arrested by request.
According to Rahimov, the reason for his arrest was his affecting the "interests" of the Presidential Aide Ali Hasanov and his entourage, and the "appropriation" of financial aid from the state budget. "I was arrested 4 hours after the open letter to Ali Hasanov. This is not an accident," Rahimov said.
The defense will appeal the verdict.
Earlier, the prosecutor asked to convict Rahimov to 6.5 years in prison.
* Rahimov was detained on October 26, 2018, charged with extortion by threats and arrested by a court decision. Prior to his arrest, Rahimov said he was being persecuted because of the criticism of the Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Ali Hasanov. -21B-
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