Azerbaijan starts trial on case against Hilal Mamedov

The trial on the criminal case against Hilal Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of Talysh) is to be started in Baku on January 9.

The preliminary court session was scheduled for January 9. It will be chaired by Azer Orudjev, Judge of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes. This was reported by the publication "tolishpress.org" with reference to advocates of Hilal Mamedov.

Hilal Mamedov is charged under Article 274 (high treason), Article 283.2.2 (incitement of national, racial or religious hatred), and Article 234.4.3 (illegal manufacture, production, acquisition, storage, transport, transfer or sale of drugs) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

Hilal Mamedov himself denies his guilt. In his statement disseminated via media, the defendant has claimed that he associates his prosecution with "spread on the website 'Youtube' of the video 'Who you are, come on, goodbye'" that made a boom in Russia and a number of interviews he gave to journalists.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" has also stated that he refused to give testimony to investigators, except for the testimony that he gave immediately after his detention when he rejected the charges of drug possession, the IA "News-Azerbaijan" reports.