Baku: session on case of journalist Khadija Ismayilova was held in Baku in camera

The court session on the lawsuit lodged by the former opposition activist Elman Turkoglu (Gasanov) against the journalist Khadija Ismayilova was held behind closed doors in the Baku SIZO (pre-trial prison). The claimant demanded to find Khadija guilty of libel.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Khadija Ismayilova, an employee of the Azerbaijani Service of Radio Liberty, is accused of incitement to a suicide attempt of her former colleague Tural Mustafaev.

Elton Guliev, Ismayilova's advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that his client was not notified in advance about the court session. "Khadija was told that she was convoyed to a meeting with her advocate. We protested against holding the litigation in the SIZO, because the preparatory session had decided that the trial would be open. However, our petitions were rejected. We also pointed to the inconsistency of the testimonies presented by the prosecution, because their origin is unknown," said Guliev.

According to his story, the prosecution referred to a certain document, which states that Ismayilova had named Gasanov in some material posted on the Facebook social network.

At the session, Gasanov himself demanded to find Ismayilova guilty under the article of "Defamation of committing a grave crime", which provides for up to three years in prison, said Guliev, adding that the next session was scheduled for February 23.

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