BAKU -- An appeal’s court in Azerbaijan has upheld a lower court’s rejection of a lawsuit brought by two young bloggers alleging “inhumane treatment” by the police as they await trial.
Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli say that after their arrest on July 8 police did not allow them to meet lawyers or to receive medical aid.
Milli, a member of the youth opposition group Alumni Network, and Hajizada, a member of the opposition group OL, are in pre-trial detention on charges of hooliganism and deliberately inflicting bodily harm during a fight with two other men in a Baku restaurant.
Supporters of Hajizada and Milli claim the arrest was motivated by the bloggers’ criticism of the government and was part of a larger crackdown on Internet media.
International organizations and some Western politicians have called for their release, saying that the incident is directly related to the bloggers' political activities.
Milli criticized Azerbaijani authorities on the Internet and Hacizadeh is the author of a satirical video which protested the purchase of donkeys from Germany using public funds.
Government officials have rejected what they call attempts to politicize the bloggers’ detention.