Defense witnesses testify activists were attacked

Witnesses for the defense in alumnus Adnan Hajizada's hooliganism trial testified Tuesday that the activist was the victim of an attack, while prosecution witnesses said they did not see who started the fight in an Azerbaijani cafe July 8.

The prosecution called the cook, Araz Allahverdiyev, from the restaurant as well as three police officers who arrived after the fight. None of the witnesses saw the fight and two of the police officers said they had not seen anyone injured other than Hajizada and fellow activist Emin Milli, according to EurasiaNet.org. Milli is on trial with Hajizada.

The defense then began its case by calling two witnesses who gave detailed accounts of the fight. Parviz Atayev and Orkhan Qafarli, friends of Hajizada and Milli, said only the activists were injured. Atayev testified that complainant Vasul Mammadov threw the first punch after approaching the defendants who were having a political discussion.

Several organizations and government officials have said they want the Azerbaijani government to guarantee Hajizada and Milli are given a fair trial, including Virginia representative Jim Moran and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Clinton spoke with an Azeri official on Friday about making sure Hajizada and Milli received a fair trial, according to Contact.com, an Azeri news Web site. Moran sent a letter to Clinton Aug. 24 that said he was concerned the arrest of the activists was politically motivated and that free speech was being repressed in Azerbaijan.

Supporters of Hajizada and Milli, including Hajizada's father Hikmet Hajizada, claim the bloggers were arrested for speaking out against the government with new media such as the Internet and Twitter. Hikmet Hajizada was the Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia from 1992 to 1993.

Contact staff writer Stephanie Rice at stephanie.rice@richmond.edu