Day: December 9, 2024
The journalists were remanded in custody for 4 months while the investigation continues.
On 8 December, a trial was held in the Khatai District Court of Baku on a criminal case filed against Meydan TV employees.
As a result, the court remanded the journalists in custody for 4 months while the investigation continues.
On 6 December, Meydan TV employees Ramin Deko (Jabrailzade), Aynur Elgunesh (Ganbarova), Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Tapdig (Ahmadova), Khayala Agayeva, and Natig Javadli were detained on suspicion of “smuggling.”
A crime was filed against the journalists under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons in prior collusion).
The homes of most of the detained journalists were searched, and their equipment and personal belongings were seized.
The court also sentenced another detainee, civil society member and media worker Ulvi Tahirov, who was not a Meydan TV employee but was detained on the same day as them, to 4 months in pretrial detention.
Meydan TV management issued a statement, noting that the charges made by the police are unfounded and that the detention of the journalists is illegal and is also a repression against independent media.
Since November 2023, dozens of journalists have been arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of “smuggling.”
Local and international human rights organizations consider the charges trumped up and call for the journalists’ immediate release.
The post Meydan TV employees remanded for 4 months appeared first on MEYDAN.TV.
Zourabichvili meets Trump
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili met with the US President- elect Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Zourabichvili shared the news on X, posting footage of a discussion among the three leaders.
“«In-depth discussion with Presidents Trump & Macron. Exposed the stolen election and extremely alarming repression against the people of Georgia. Underscored the need for a strong US. The Georgian people have a friend in Donald Trump. God bless the United States of America” Zourabichvili wrote.
Earlier, she also met with American entrepreneur Elon Musk, whom Trump appointed as the head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
“Excellent exchange with Elon Musk about the situation in Georgia. I look forward to welcoming him in our country,” Zourabichvili said following the meeting.
While in Paris, Salome Zourabichvili also discussed the ongoing events in Georgia with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
