13 Nov 2009 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost, News and features
Bloggers Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli were sentenced on 11 November to two years and two-and-a-half years in prison respectively. Human rights groups and analysts believe the sentences are politically motivated, and that the they were sentenced on trumped-up charges. Before the incident and their subsequent arrest, the bloggers had criticised the government through a satirical video posted online featuring a donkey giving a press conference. The bloggers’ lawyer Isakhan Ashurov said that they were planning an appeal, and would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. (Hurriyet Daily News/AFP)
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18 Sep 2009 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost
The trial of Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli, the two Azerbaijani bloggers facing charges of “hooliganism” and “deliberate physical violence”, resumed yesterday. Supporters gathered outside the courtroom where the hearing was taking place were arrested, and although representatives from the European Council and foreign embassies attended the hearing, journalists and representatives from human rights organisations were denied access.
26 Aug 2009 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost
An additional charge of “intentional physical violence” have been brought against Adnan Hadji Zadeh and Emin Milli, two bloggers who have been held on a hooliganism charge since July in Azerbaijan. The new charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, in addition to the five years they are already facing for hooliganism. Read more here
18 Aug 2009 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost
Forty-three Azerbaijani music fans who voted for neighbouring Armenia in this year’s Eurovision song contest have been detained and questioned about their “ethnic pride”. Azerbaijan’s national security ministry has allegedly spoken to each of the 43 Azerbaijani who voted for Armenian duo Inga and Anush, singing Jan Jan, rather than AySel and Arash’s Azerbaijani entry. Read more here
