Reacting to the 13-year prison sentence handed down to prisoner of conscience and human rights defender Anar Mammadli, following the lengthy prison sentences imposed on nine defendants in the Toplum TV case, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:
“Anar Mammadli has been condemned to spend thirteen years behind bars for ‘crimes’ he did not commit. His conviction follows an unfair trial in which his rights were brazenly violated, mirroring the treatment of the nine defendants in the Toplum TV case, who were also handed lengthy prison sentences.”
“These convictions demonstrate that journalists and other critics who expose government abuses and challenge the interests of President Ilham Aliyev’s family are severely punished.
“Since 2009, the Azerbaijani authorities have increasingly tightened restrictions on critical NGOs and independent media outlets. Many have been arbitrarily denied registration. To continue operating amid deteriorating respect for the right to freedom of expression, many have adopted strategies that the authorities have sought to criminalize through impossible tax, currency and other regulatory requirements designed to obstruct their legitimate work.
