Polad Aslanov removed from session after skirmish with judge

Polad Aslanov, a journalist, accused of treason, expressed dissatisfaction with the presence of law enforcers at the court session on his case under the guise of journalists, and was removed from the courtroom.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 1, Polad Aslanov, the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani Internet editions "Xeberman.com" and "Press-az.com", sentenced to 16 years in prison under a high treason case, went on a hunger strike while the court was considering his appeal complaint. He claimed that the court of appeal was deliberately protracting the consideration of his complaint, demanded a fair trial and transfer from SIZO to house arrest.

The trial at the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) is open, but despite this, on February 4, neither journalists nor activists were allowed into the courtroom, Gyulmira Aslanova. Polad's wife, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Only after I began making noise demanding publicity of the trial, two journalists and two human rights defenders were let into the courtroom," she has added.

Given the fact that they wouldn't let journalists into the courtroom, four outsiders were present there, Ms Aslanova has noted. "Polad identified them as operative agents who had participated in his case. Polad demanded to remove them. The judge objected stating that they were 'journalists'. Polad suggested that they introduce themselves and began to emotionally express his indignation. The judge removed him from the courtroom. When I began expressing my outrage at the judge's actions, he sent me out too," said Gyulmira Aslanova, adding that on the fourth day of his hunger strike, Polad looked pale and haggard. "So far, there's no reaction to his hunger strike. He remains in his cell. He was not isolated, and no medical supervision was set on him," the wife has noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 4, 2021 at 07:32 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.