Opposition activist Tofig Yagublu sentenced to imprisonment

In Baku, the court found opposition politician Tofig Yagublu guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced him to four years and three months of imprisonment. Dozens of activists who came to the court building to support Tofig Yagublu held a spontaneous protest action against the court's decision.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 2, Tofig Yagublu, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) and the "Musavat" Party, delivered his final speech in court. The defendant claimed the biased nature of the trial in his criminal case on disorderly conduct and declared a hunger strike.

Like during the earlier court hearings, activists and journalists were not allowed to attend the trial with pronouncement of the verdict at the Nizami District Court. At about 12:00 a.m., Nigyar Khazi, a defendant's daughter, left the court building and reported about the sentence pronounced against her father: four years and three months of imprisonment.

Nigyar Khazi called the verdict a political revenge of the country's regime. "We understand the unwritten rules of the regime: we criticize, and they throw us into prisons. But they cross all the 'red lines' with regard to my father. This is the third time he has been sentenced to a long term of imprisonment," Nigyar Khazi noted.

After her speech, about 50 activists who gathered in front of the court building began chanting slogans: "Freedom!", "Resign!", and "Freedom for political prisoners!" The police pushed the activists away from the court building.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 3, 2020 at 12:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.