Azerbaijan: prosecutor asks 6 years in prison for journalist Seymour Khazi

Today, at the trial of journalist Seymour Khazi, accused of hooliganism, the state prosecutor, in his closing remarks, asked the Apsheron District Court of Azerbaijan to sentence Khazi to six years in prison.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Seymour Khazi, an observer for the newspaper "Azadlig" (Freedom) and a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), was detained on August 29, 2014. According to law enforcers, the journalist beat up a man, unknown to him, named Magerram Gasanov. On September 6, it was announced that Gasanov, who, according to the prosecutor's office, insulted and beat up Khazi, was also placed in custody.

During the today's session, the prosecutor asked 6 years in prison for Khazi, and only 9 months in prison for Gasanov.

"We believe that six years in prison is an inappropriately severe punishment for Khazi. The journalist should be released from liability in the first place, since he acted in self-defence and did not exceed its boundaries," said his advocate Adil Ismailov, adding that the course of the trial has confirmed that it was a pre-planned provocation against Khazi.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.