GibburtAzerbaijani bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade – still in jail
Two days ago Emin Milli turned thirty. He celebrated this in his prison cell, where he and his friend Adnan have been enjoying forced state hospitality ever since they were attacked by two muscle men (who were quickly released from custody).
Gibburt reported about this case last month.
The birthday of Emin Milli has not passed unnoticed: all over the world people gathered and celebrated it.
You might have noticed the counter: today was the hundredth day of their detention. The people that made it obviously didn’t anticipate they would be in prison for this long.
The process itself hasn’t seen much progress beyond the judge determining what facts are worth investigating. An example: the judge didn’t deem it necessary to look at the images shot by the security cameras in the bar where the alleged crimes happened. See also here for an almost live coverage of a day at the court.
Gibburt will be keeping an eye on this as we like everybody to be free to speak his mind.
Apart from the complete stupidity of the actual case and the way the Baku court is “handling” it (endless postponements because witnesses for the prosecution don’t show up at court and if they do, they claim they don’t remember very basic things), the way the friends and supporters of Emin and Adnan are using online media to mobilize people and get the word out, is an excellent example of the use of new media or citizen journalism. Not only do they use Facebook and blogs, but also Twitter to cover the case especially on days when there is a court session. Follow the hashtag #eminadnan or these people for example: @arzugeybulla, @Melissa_Ys, @ljmaximus, @hustlerflower, @rufatagayev. Global Voices is also covering the case.