Journalist hunger-striking in Baku SIZO demands judge challenge

Today, Ikram Ragimov, an Azerbaijani journalist, found guilty of extortion, stated his distrust in the court of appeal. He has refused to stop his hunger strike, held already for fourteen days, his relatives have informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 12, a court in Baku found Ikram Ragimov, the editor-in-chief of the "Realliq.info" website, guilty of extortion, and sentenced him to 5.5 years in prison. The verdict was appealed against; and the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) appointed the consideration of the complaint on the merits for August 21. Ragimov, who went on a hunger strike on August 7 demanding an objective review of his appeal at the BCA. On August 19, his relatives who visited Ragimov said that he was in extremely grave condition.

Today, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) began considering Ragimov's complaint on the merits. "Ikram was brought to the court. He was very weak, barely moving, his voice was very low," Galib Gasanov, a Ragimov's cousin who was present in the courtroom, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Mr Gasanov, at the start of the session, Ragimov demanded to challenge the court. "Ikram said that at the preliminary hearing, on August 7, the BCA, by rejecting the demand to re-question the witnesses and victims, revealed its partiality and interest in upholding the conviction," Galib Gasanov has stated.

Having received a written application from Ragimov, the judge announced that the next session would take place on August 28.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 21, 2019 at 06:13 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.