Photojournalist Ahmed Mukhtar arrested in Meydan TV case

The investigation into the Meydan TV case has been completed, and those arrested have been charged under eight articles of the criminal code. Today, the 12th suspect, photojournalist Akhmed Mukhtar, was arrested.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, 11 people are charged in the Meydan TV case, and in June, their pretrial detention terms were extended by three months. These are Meydan TV journalists Aynur Elgunesh, Nurlana Gahramanli (Libre) and Aytaj Akhmedova (Tapdyg), Ramin Deko (Jabrailzade), Aysel Umudova, Khayal Agayeva Natig Javadli, editor-in-chief of the website "argument.az" and a journalist collaborating with Meydan TV Shamshad Agha (Agayev), journalists Fatima Movlamli, Ulviya Ali (Guliyeva), as well as civil activist Ulvi Tahirov.

Today, the Khatai District Court chose a preventive measure in the form of arrest for a period of 40 days for photojournalist Akhmed Mukhtar; he became the 12th person arrested in the case. His rights will be defended by a state-appointed lawyer, Meydan TV reported.

The investigation into the "Meydan TV case" was completed today.

New charges have been brought against the accused under Criminal Code Articles 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship with large-scale income), 192.2.3 (committed by an organized group), 193-1.3.1 (legalization of property obtained by criminal means), 193-1.3.2 (committed in a significant amount), 206.4 (smuggling committed by an organized group), 213.2.1 (tax evasion committed by an organized group), 320.1 (forgery of documents), 320.2 (use of forged documents). In total, the arrested journalists are charged under eight articles of the Criminal Code, the agency said in another publication.

The arrested journalists do not admit their guilt and say that they are being persecuted for their critical activities. After reviewing the materials, the case will be transferred to the Baku Court of Grave Crimes for consideration.

On August 15, the defendants in the Meydan TV case issued a statement in which they stated that "the authorities are preparing for a new falsification." We appeal to the authorities: if your expectations have failed, do not compensate for this with another falsification. There is no crime in our actions. "Journalism is not a crime!" - said in the statement.

Along with Meydan TV employees, journalists from other media outlets, including Toplum TV, Abzas Media and Kanal-13, were also subjected to persecution. The persecution of journalists is described in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Serial arrests of journalists in Azerbaijan".

On June 20, journalists and employees of the Azerbaijani online publication Abzas Media were sentenced to terms of 7.5 to 9 years. In court, they rejected the charges, emphasizing that they are being persecuted for their professional activities and investigation of corruption cases.

The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached its peak in 2024 in 23 years of the country's membership in the Council of Europe, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "The main thing about the record number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan". At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.

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