22:29, 12 December 2018

Afghan Mukhtarly complains about tapping his conversations with his wife in colony

Leyla Mustafaeva with her husband's photo at a protest action in Tbilisi on June 1, 2017. Photo: Mzia Saganelidze (RFE/RL)

The journalist Afghan Mukhtarly, who is serving his prison sentence in Azerbaijan, cannot call from the colony by a payphone; and his conversations through the call centre are tapped, his wife has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 12, 2018, the court sentenced Mukhtarly to six years in prison on charges of illegally crossing the border, smuggling and resisting a state official. On September 18, the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan upheld the verdict.

On May 30, 2018, Mukhtarly, who left for Georgia in 2014, reported that he had been kidnapped a nd brought to Baku. The journalist blamed Georgian authorities for his kidnapping.

His wife Leyla Mustafaeva, who lives in Europe, said that her husband was also not allowed to phone his relatives.

Samir Asadli, a Mukhtarly's public defender and the coordinator of the "Nida" movement, has confirmed the information about violation of Afghan's rights in the colony. He criticized the ban on the journalist's communication with his children by Skype.

Elchin Sadygov, Afghan's advocate, has also treated the restrictions as illegal.

Afghan Mukhtarly has linked his persecution with his earlier investigations of corruption in Azerbaijan. He has been put on the list of the country's political prisoners.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 12, 2018 at 05:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent