Today, on December 12, a preparatory hearing was held at the Baku Court of Serious Crimes for the journalists arrested in connection with the “Meydan TV case”.
The session was presided over by Judge Aytan Aliyeva.
At the hearing, the personal details of the defendants were clarified.
Afterwards, as a procedural formality, each defendant was assigned a state-appointed lawyer. All defendants refused the appointed lawyers and were provided with their own personal attorneys.
The lawyers then filed motions.
The lawyers requested that the defendants be allowed to sit in the courtroom rather than stand or be held elsewhere. This motion was granted. Starting from the next court session, the defendants in this case will be seated in the courtroom.
In today’s session, one of the accused journalist Ulviyyə Guliyeva (Ali)—said she was having difficulty breathing. The court allowed her to sit next to her lawyer.
The lawyers also filed a motion requesting that the journalists arrested in this case—Ramin Jabrayilzada (Deko), Natig Javadli, and civil society member Ulvi Tahirov—be transferred from Investigation Detention Facility No. 3 to Baku Investigation Detention Facility No. 1.
Aytaj Ahmadova (Tapdig), another journalist detained in connection with the “Meydan TV case,” submitted a motion asking the court to lift the restriction preventing her from marrying Kamran Mammadli.
The court granted both motions.
However, motions requesting that the arrested individuals be placed under house arrest were not granted.
The trial has been scheduled.
The next court session will be held on December 22.
On December 6, 2024, Meydan TV employees Ramin Deko (Jabrayilzada), Aynur Ganbarova (Elgunesh), Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Ahmadova (Tapdig), Khayala Aghayeva, Natig Javadli, and civil society member Ulvi Tahirov were detained.
Those detained in this case were charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons in prior collusion).
On February 5, 2025, the editor-in-chief of the website “arqument.az” and journalist cooperating with Meydan TV, Shamshad Aghayev (Agha), and later other journalists—Nurlan Libre (Gahramanli) on February 20, Fatima Movlamli on February 28, Ulviyya Ali (Guliyeva) on May 7, and Ahmad Mukhtar on August 27—were arrested in the same case.
On August 28, the charges in the “Meydan TV case” were expanded. The individuals arrested in the case were collectively charged under 7 articles of the Criminal Code.
The detained journalists do not accept the accusations and believe they were arrested on political orders, with the aim of silencing independent media and free voices in the country.
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