India, Sept. 8 -- Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, with Amnesty International describing his conviction and a series of other lengthy sentences as evidence of an escalating crackdown on independent voices.
Mammadli Handed 13-Year Sentence
The Baku Court on Grave Crimes sentenced Mammadli on September 7 on charges including currency smuggling, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, money laundering and document forgery. His co-defendant, Anar Abdullayev, received a 12-year prison term. Amnesty said the prosecution failed to provide credible evidence proving the alleged offences and accused the court of conducting an unfair trial.
Mammadli had spent 27 months in detention before his ...