In Azerbaijan, Court dismisses complaint about journalist Afghan Mukhtarly's detention

On June 23, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) considered the appeal filed against the decision of the Baku District Court on detention of journalist Afghan Mukhtarly.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Afghan Mukhtarly disappeared on May 29 in Tbilisi. On May 30, he telephoned his advocate Nemat Kerimli and said that he was brought to Baku. According to Mukhtarly, during the kidnapping, he was exposed to violence and beatings.

"Afghan Mukhtarly was handed over to border guards by people who kidnapped him in Georgia. However, the Court did not carry out an objective investigation, did not grant the motion to review the video records from surveillance cameras at a border checkpoint," advocate Elchin Sadygov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the advocate, the BCA has dismissed the complaint filed by the journalist's defence. Officials from the Court have confirmed the dismissal of the complaint about the Afghan Mukhtarly's detention.

The advocate has also pointed to the deterioration of the Afghan Mukhtarly's health. "My client suffers from diabetes, and at the SIZO (pre-trial prison), physicians registered a sharp increase in the level of sugar in his blood up to a level dangerous to his health. He does not receive any medicine to cope his diabetes and heart decease. A cardiologist wrote out a prescription, but Afghan Mukhtarly did receive neither a prescription, nor medicine," noted the advocate. He regarded the "obstruction to medical treatment" as "inhuman treatment."

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