Editor-in-chief of Hürriyyət Vugar Mammadov appears in court

A preliminary hearing was held at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes in the criminal case against Vugar Mammadov, editor-in-chief of the Hürriyyət newspaper and Hürriyyət TV.

At the hearing, chaired by Judge Elmin Rustamov, the defendant’s personal details were clarified. Three companies were recognised as victims in the case.

Mammadov’s lawyer, Agil Layij, said the case against his client had been separated into a standalone proceeding from the criminal case involving former head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev. The defence asked the court to replace pre-trial detention with house arrest.

The lawyer also requested that Mammadov be transferred from the State Security Service detention facility, where he is currently being held, to the Baku pre-trial detention centre. The court granted the request for transfer but rejected the motion to change the preventive measure.

The trial on the merits is scheduled for May 18.

Mammadov was detained on Oct. 29 last year during an operation carried out by the State Security Service at the offices of Hürriyyət newspaper and Hürriyyət TV. A court ordered his detention for three months and 13 days.

He has been charged under Articles 182.2.2 and 182.2.4 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, which cover extortion committed repeatedly and extortion aimed at obtaining property in a significant amount.