Azerbaijani journalist kidnapped in Georgia gets six years in jail
A court in Azerbaijan has sentenced journalist Afqan Muxtarli to six years in prison after convicting him of smuggling and other crimes in a politically charged trial condemned by rights groups.
The Balakan District Court issued the verdict and sentence on January 12 after an impassioned final statement by Muxtarli, who said President Ilham Aliyev's government "cannot silence us", RFE/RL reports.
Rights groups and Western states have condemned the case as part of long-standing government effort to quash dissent and punish those who question the authorities or seek to expose graft.
Muxtarli and his wife, Leyla Mustafayeva, fled to Georgia in 2015, fearing for their safety in connection with his reporting on suspected corruption in President Ilham Aliyev's circle.
A day after the journalist went missing in Tbilisi in May 2017, Azerbaijani authorities said he was in custody in Baku on suspicion of smuggling and crossing the border illegally.
Muxtarli's lawyers, Elcin Sadiqov and Nemat Karimli, told the court that their client was "abducted" in Georgia and illegally brought into Azerbaijan.
They said the case was politically motivated and asked the court to drop all charges.
But the court in northern Azerbaijan found Muxtarli guilty of illegal border crossing, smuggling cash, and assaulting officials.
In his final statement, before a break in the hearing ahead of the verdict, Muxtarli said that he is not guilty and vowed to continue expressing his thoughts and ideas through writing as a journalist.
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