Jailed blogger set free in Azerbaijan
BAKU – One of two Azerbaijani jailed bloggers was released on Thursday, after his imprisonment last year was condemned by the West as an alleged blow to free speech.
An appeals court in the capital Baku ordered Adnan Hajizada's release after he served half of his two-year sentence for hooliganism. The ruling did not overturn his conviction.
Another blogger, Emin Milli, remains in jail on a 30-month sentence.
The two were arrested in July last year over a brawl in a Baku restaurant and were convicted in November.
Some local and international rights champions claim they were victims of an unprovoked attack, imprisoned as a warning to other activists after posting a satirical swipe at the authorities in which Hajizade held a fake news conference dressed as a donkey.
US President Barack Obama joined calls in September for their release after a meeting in the United States with President Ilham Aliyev.
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