
12
Dec 2019
Lvl. 1
State replied
Alert created on: 01 Apr 2015
n° 63/2015
Azerbaijan
Journalist Nijat Aliyev Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail in Baku
Source of threatState
CategoryDetention and imprisonment of journalists
Nijat Aliyev is the chief editor of the independent news website Azadxeber. He was arrested on 20 May 2012 in Baku while he was distributing CDs containing information on house demolitions in the run up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and some other controversial issues. The Azeri police claimed that they found marijuana in his pockets. The authorities extended several times his detention. Aliyev's lawyer said that investigators tortured the journalist in custody and put him under pressure to admit possession of drugs. In January 2013, police filed additional charges of “illegal import and sale of religious literature, calling for the overthrow of the constitutional regime and incitement to ethnic and religious hatred.” On 9 December 2013, the Baku Grave Crime Court sentenced the journalist to ten years in prison. In June 2014, Azerbaijan's Court of Appeals rejected Aliyev's appeal.
Updates
18 Mar 2019
On 17 March 2019, journalist Nijat Aliyev was released, following presidential pardon.
07 Apr 2016
On 7 April 2016 the Supreme Court dismissed Nijat Aliyev`s cassation appeal.
State replies
Reply by the Government of Azerbaijan
Follow-ups

In her report following her visit to Azerbaijan from 8 to 12 July 2019, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights regrets that no progress has been made regarding the protection of freedom of expression and calls on the authorities to release all those detained because of the views they expressed, notably journalists.