sakit zahidov is a prominent journalist, poet, and satirist for the opposition newspaper azadlýq ('freedom'), well-known for his sharp criticisms of government officials in azerbaijan...this father of five children is now serving a three-year prison sentence on charges many believe to be politically motivated...amnesty international is concerned that mr. zahidov was denied a fair trial and may have been imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression...interior ministry personnel arrested sakit zahidov on june 23, 2006 on a charge of "possession of illegal narcotics with intent to distribute,"...a statement issued by the ministry alleged that police had found 10 grams of heroin on sakit zahidov...after no evidence of drug-dealing was presented at his trial, the charge was reduced to use of illegal drugs...however, a urine test at the time of arrest reportedly showed no evidence of drug usage...
many observers believe that the arrest of sakit zahidov was politically motivated and that the heroin was planted on him in order to incriminate him...other political opponents of the government have been arrested in recent years on drug-related charges of dubious validity...sakit zahidov has stated that a police officer planted the drugs in his pocket after he was forced into a car at the time of the arrest...
amnesty international has called on the authorities to ensure that sakit zahidov receives an immediate retrial in compliance with international fair trial standards...
please send cards of support...if you would like to say,
"We are thinking of you" in a phonetic form of Azeri, you may write: "Biz sizin haqqinizda fikirlashirik."
write to:
Sakit Zahidov
Dash karxanasi, building 202
Boyuk Shor
Baku, rayon Neriman
AZERBAIJAN
peace out <3
No comments:
Post a Comment