Polad Aslanov associates his prosecution with journalistic activities

Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov, accused of treason, has testified at a trial in the Baku Court on Grave Crimes. The defendant denies the charges brought against him and claims that he is being prosecuted for his professional journalistic activities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in June 2019, Polad Aslanov, the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani online editions "Xeberman.com" and "Press-az.com", was detained and taken into custody on suspicion of espionage. On December 24, the journalist was charged with the threat of death or serious bodily harm.

The next hearing in the Polad Aslanov's case was held at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes on February 17.

At the trial, the court listened to the Polad Aslanov's testimony. The defendant denied the charges brought against him and claimed that he had given primary evidence under pressure. According to the journalist, law enforcers threatened that if he did not make a confession, his family members would "have troubles."

Polad Aslanov claimed that the true reason for his arrest was his posts about bribes received by law enforcers from travel agencies.

The journalist rejected the public prosecutor's version that he allegedly transferred information related to state secrets to the Iranian secret services for cash rewards.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 18, 2019 at 01:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.