Azerbaijani journalist stands trial over alleged treason

 

"The trial against Rauf Mirkadyrov started on Wednesday in closed session," the journalist’s lawyer, Fuad Agayev told AFP.

 

"My client rejects the charges, which are totally unfounded," the lawyer said.

 

He added that the judge had banned him from disclosing further information on the legal proceedings.

 

If found guilty, the journalist faces up to life in jail.

 

Mirkadyrov, 54, has been held in pre-trial detention since his arrest in April 2014 in Baku after he was deported from Turkey.

 

Prosecutors accuse him of high treason, claiming the secret services of Azerbaijan’s arch-foe Armenia recruited him in 2008, and he supplied Yerevan with state secrets.