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Deutsch: Aserbaidschanische Blogger vom Gericht in Baku missbräuchlich verurte...

On 11 November 2009, two Azerbaijani bloggers were found guilty on hooliganism and violence charges by a court in Baku and sentenced to two years and two years and a half prison respectively.

Bloggers and political activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Abdullayev were arrested on 8 July 2009 on false charges of "hooliganism" after they had posted a video on YouTube mocking the purchase of donkeys from Germany by the Azeri Government. The sentence comes after four month of pre-trial detainment during which international organizations, institutions and individuals continuously asked for the release of the activists.

Many freedom group protested against the arrest and the detention of the two, considering the action was violating the freedom of expression. Reporters Without Borders said the case disregarded all the norms of the European legislation and Freedom House considered the case was "a disturbing pattern".

The situation of the two bloggers was also discussed on 1 October 2009 during the meeting between Elnur Majidli representing the Alumni Network, Chingiz Ganizade, the Chairman of the Committee of Human Rights and the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg. Both Majidli and Ganizade asked that the Council of Europe intervene in the human rights field in order to assist in the situation of the two young men.

The High Commissioner mentioned that the Council of Europe was following the trial and that the case was one of the main concerns in Azerbaijan.

Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, considers the sentence as a political one. "The severity of the sentences for these young bloggers and other journalists who have criticized the authorities, including the President and the Interior Minister, is self-revealingly political," said Haraszti who added in a letter sent to the Foreign Minister: "These new imprisonments cement Azerbaijan's image as the pre-eminent jailer of journalists in the OSCE region. Five journalists are currently in prison, several of them on clearly trumped-up charges following organized provocations and unfair trials."

After the sentence, Abdullayev called on the audience to use all means to spread the reality of the situation in the country regarding freedom, justice and their case. Hajizade is said to have stated that the decision was framed in falsehoods and called on youth to change themselves and to work together for a better Azerbaijan.

The Verdict (11.11.2009)
http://flyingcarpetsandbrokenpipelines.blogspot.com/2009/11/verdict.ht...

Thomas Hammarberg: Bloggers case of our main concerns in Azerbaijan (10.2009)
http://ol-en.blogspot.com/2009/10/thomas-hammarberg-bloggers-case-of-o...

Azerbaijan bloggers found guilty (11.11.2009)
http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/content/view/528/2/

OSCE media freedom representative protests sentence handed down to Internet journalists in Azerbaijan (11.11.2009)
http://www.osce.org/item/41288.html

EDRi-gram: Azeri online activists framed for hooliganism and put in prison (15.07.2009)
http://www.edri.org/edri-gram/number7.14/azeri-online-activits-jailed