11:45, 17 November 2020

Azerbaijani journalist Aslanov sentenced to 16 years in prison

Journalist Polad Aslanov. Photo by Gülmirə Aslanova https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=137011440924807&set=pcb.137011470924804&type=3&theater

The Baku Court for Grave Crimes has sentenced journalist Polad Aslanov to 16 years in prison. Aslanov treats himself as innocent and considered his journalistic activities as the motive for his prosecution.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Polad Aslanov was arrested in June 2019 on suspicion of espionage. He was charged with threats of murder or grievous bodily harm. On August 5, he went on a hunger strike in protest against violation of his rights.

On February 3, 2020, the trial of Aslanov's case began with an accusation against the judge. According to the journalist and his advocates, the judge, who had earlier worked at the Ministry of National Security (MNS), was interested in the conviction.

"Polad said that he was being punished for revealing extortions of travel agencies that organized pilgrimages to Shiite shrines in Karbala and Mashhad (Iran). Agents of special services extorted from bosses of travel agencies USD 10-20 for each pilgrim. Polad said that he was ordered to delete these records, but he refused, and then a criminal case was fabricated against him," his wife, Gyulmira Aslanova, has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 16, 2020 at 09:41 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent