Baku court convicts "Nida" activists (+video)

On May 6, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes announced the verdict to eight activists of the movement "Nida", accused of organizing mass riots. Judge Djavid Guseinov handed down a guilty verdict and sentenced the young people to real prison terms ranging from 6 to 8 years. After the announcement of the verdict, a support group of more than a hundred people who gathered close to the courthouse began chanting "Freedom!" Policemen dispersed the crowd, detaining some of the protesters.

The sentencing took place under heightened security measures: the courthouse was surrounded by reinforced police units.

The court has sentenced Rashadat Akhundov, Zaur Gurbanly and Ilkin Rustamzade to 8 years of imprisonment each; Rashad Gasanov and Mamed Azizov – to 7.5 years each; Uzeyir Mamedli and Bakhtiyar Guliyev – to 7 years each; and Shakhin Novruzlu – to 6 years in prison. None of them has pled guilty.

The lawyer Khalid Bagirov left the courthouse, when the judge was still sentencing. "This is a formal and senseless verdict," Bagirov told reporters. According to the lawyer, "the sentence is based not on legal norms but on a political order; it condemned the guys whose guilt had not been proved."