Azerbaijan: journalist Agyl Khalil denies his links with homosexuals

It follows from the message of the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, which was read on air of the state TV Channel, that the reason of the attempt on Agyl Khalil, an employee of the "Azadlyg" newspaper was the offence of his rejected sexual partner Sergey Strekalin.

Journalist Agyl Khalil regards the statement of the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan about his relations with members of sexual minorities as his discredit campaign. He sent a respective complaint to the name of the Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan, asking to return his case to the Police Department of the city of Baku.

According to the journalist, homosexuals' evidences against him were taken by means of physical pressure.

"I don't know the person named Sergey. Everything that the investigation has stated is just fiction. Thus, Sergey said that knew me since 2005, although then I was at my army service," journalist Agyl Khalil gave his comments on the message of the State Office of Public Prosecutor in his interview to the "Azadlyg" newspaper.

According to the journalist, there are other contradictions in Strekalin's evidences. Thus, the latter said that he had made several knife blows on Khalil; however, the examination report states that the journalist received only one knife wound. The suspect could not describe Khalil's clothes, and said that Khalil allegedly gave a cigarette to Strekalin.

"The people who know me can confirm that I don't smoke," Khalil has noted.

As to the attack on the journalist on February 22 in Olive Grove, when Agyl Khalil photographed an illegal land sale transaction, under the version of the Prosecutor's Office, there was no incident at all, and the journalist had invented all the facts.