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Charges against Azerbaijani Facebook activist suspended

June 04, 2011

Elnur Majidli

BAKU – Charges filed against Azerbaijani Facebook activist and blogger Elnur Majidli for advocating the overthrow of the government have been suspended, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

Eldar Sultanov of the Prosecutor-General's office said the case against Majidli was suspended on June 2.

Azerbaijani prosecutors had reportedly asked Interpol in March to search for Majidli, but his name is not currently on Interpol's wanted list.

Sultanov did not say if Interpol had rejected the request or if there's another reason why he is not on the international police organization's wanted list.

Majidli who is and lives in Strasbourg, France, was one of the organizers of the "March 11 – Great People's Day" and "April 2 – Great Wrath Day" campaigns on Facebook that tried to mobilize antigovernment demonstrations in Azerbaijani towns and cities.

Majidli and local lawyers said the charges against him were "moral terror."

Majidli told RFE/RL on June 3 that he wants the charges dropped, not "frozen" or suspended, so that he will not risk being arrested when he returns to Baku.

Azerbaijani law enforcement has a practice of suspending but not dropping charges against activists and using the existing charges as a means of pressure against individuals.

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Topics: Freedom of expression, Freedom of information,