The court in Baku sentenced the editor of the now-defunct independent newspaper Realny Azerbaijan to two and a half years in a high-security prison, known for its harsh conditions.
The journalist Eynulla Fatullayev had already been serving more than three years in jail, after the authorities arrested him in April 2007 to stop his critical writing of the head of state.
According to the court decision from July 6, Fatullayev was found guilty of drug possession, which he claims security guards planted in his clothes while he was taking a shower.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, who gave him an International Press Freedom Award in 2009, condemned the decision and called on the Baku court to “drop this absurd new sentence and annul the old case against our colleague or face sanctions.”
The journalist Eynulla Fatullayev had already been serving more than three years in jail, after the authorities arrested him in April 2007 to stop his critical writing of the head of state.
According to the court decision from July 6, Fatullayev was found guilty of drug possession, which he claims security guards planted in his clothes while he was taking a shower.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, who gave him an International Press Freedom Award in 2009, condemned the decision and called on the Baku court to “drop this absurd new sentence and annul the old case against our colleague or face sanctions.”
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