Azerbaijani journalist Ikram Ragimov set free

Ikram Ragimov, the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani website "Realliq.info", was released on conditional early relief (CER) by a court's decision, since he had served two-thirds of his prison sentence. The journalist believes that his criminal prosecution was unfounded.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 12, 2019, a court in Baku found Ikram Ragimov guilty of extortion and sentenced him to 5.5 years of imprisonment. Since December 28, 2019, Ragimov was on a hunger strike because of the pressure exerted on him by the colony staff, his relatives assert.

On December 24, the Narimanov District Court of Baku pronounced a decision on the CER for Ikram Ragimov since he had served two-thirds of his prison sentence. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent learned about the above court's decision from Ikram Ragimov himself.

"My arrest was initiated by Ali Gasanov, the former presidential aide for public and political issues. His removal from office and the identification of abuses of power on his part in the distribution of state financial aid to the media proved that I was right," Ikram Ragimov believes. And the journalist continues: "However, when I raised the above questions, I was arrested. I spent two years in prison for a wrong accusation. I will seek full rehabilitation and will continue my investigations."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 25, 2020 at 01:08 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.