On May 12, the columnist of “Ayna-Zerkalo” newspaper, Rauf Mirkadirov, met with his lawyers Fuad Aghayev and Elmar Suleymanov.
In his interview to “Turan” News Agency, Mr. Aghayev confirmed that the journalist feels fine and has no health-related complaints.
“However, he is still denied access to the independent and opposition press, and was refused the right to meet with his family and friends.”
When it comes to the reasons of the refusal, the lawyer said that the investigator, Ibrahim Lambaranski, banned any communication.
“The law entitles Mr. Mirkadirov to the regular contact and phone calls with his relatives, and access to media. Therefore, these prohibitions are completely groundless.”
Mr. Aghayev confirms that Mr. Mirkadirov has refused to testify, although no interrogation and investigation were carried out after he was arrested and charges were pressed against him. The lawyer is unaware of how long the ban will last.
Mr. Mirkadirov is charged with conveying confidential information to the Armenians through civil society activist Laura Baqdasaryan in 2008-09. No further clarifications were made on the substance of this confidential information. The crime was supposedly carried out under the project of the Institute for Peace and Democracy headed by Leyla Yunus and NGO of Ms. Baqdasaryan.
