Hilal Mammadov (; b. 1959,

Astara Rayon Astara District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the southeast of the country, in the Lankaran-Astara Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lankaran and Lerik, as well as the Ardabil and Gilan pro ...

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

) is an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i journalist and human rights activist. He is the chief editor of the Baku-based newspaper "Tolyshi sado" ("The Voice of Talysh"), the only newspaper in Azerbaijan printed in the minority

Talysh language Talysh (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language spoken in the northern regions of the Iranian provinces of Gilan Province, Gilan and Ardabil Province, Ardabil and the southern regions of the Republic of Azerbaij ...

. After

Novruzali Mammadov Novruzali Khanmammad oğlu Mammadov (; March 1942 - 17 August 2009) was an Azerbaijani philologist, journalist and activist of Talysh ethnicity. He was the founder and editor of the now-defunct newspaper ''Tolyshi Sado'' (Voice of the Talysh). Mamm ...

died in custody, Hilal Mamedov became a second community leader for the Talysh people. He is also known as the author of the

meykhana Meykhana () is a distinctive Azerbaijani literary and folk rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject. Meykhana is distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is perfo ...

video '' Ty kto takoy? Davay, do svidaniya!'' which became an

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

both in Azerbaijan and

Post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

Biography

Hilal Mammadov is a graduate of the mathematics program of the

Baku State University Baku State University (BSU) (BDU; ) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established on 1 September 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and philology, physics ...

. He is a consultant of the Institute for Peace and Democracy and the head of the Committee for the Defence of

(no relation), a Talysh human rights activist and linguist charged in 2008 with espionage in favour of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(in 2010 Novruzali Mammadov died as a result of torture while in prison in Azerbaijan). In 2008, Hilal Mammadov appealed to foreign diplomats to intervene to help Novruzali Mammadov and his assistant Elman Guliyev, who he said were victims of a campaign against minorities.

Arrest

Mammadov was arrested on June 21, 2012 and accused of possession of illegal drugs (30 grams of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

).Azerbaijani Minority Journalist Detained On Drug Charges
/ref> A court in Baku has sanctioned a three-month pretrial detention period for him. Hilal Mammadov is charged under the Article 234, and he can be imprisoned from 3 to 12 years. According to Mammadov's relatives he has never used drugs and the arrest is politically motivated. According to a non-official version, Mammadov was arrested to prevent his participation in a Russian television talk show hosted by

Ivan Urgant Ivan Andreyevich Urgant (; born 16 April 1978) is a Russian television host, presenter and actor. His best known roles in film are Boris in the ''Yolki'' series and as Danila in ''Lucky Trouble''. Between 2012 and 2022 he hosted ''Evening Urgant ...

.Давай, за решетку!
/ref> Institute for Democracy and Peace and

Front Line Defenders Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uph ...

organizations condemned Mammadov's prosecution and demanded immediately release Hilal Mammadov as FLD believes the charges against him "are solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights". According to Azerbaijani human rights activist

Leyla Yunus Leyla Islam qizi Yunusova (née Vəliyeva; born 21 December 1955), better known as Leyla Yunus, is an Azerbaijani human rights activist who serves as the director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, a human rights organisation. She is particular ...

, who held a meeting with foreign ambassadors, Mammadov's arrest is an example of pressure on minority groups in Azerbaijan. Yunus says that the irritation of the authorities could be sparked because the meykhana placed on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

was accompanied by a commentary saying "while President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

spent millions on hosting

Eurovision 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...

, a meykhana in the

has become popular for free." On 3 July 2012, Mammadov's lawyer Anar Gadirli stated that Mammadov was additionally charged with

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

and

inciting ethnic hatred Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a crime under the laws of several countries. Australia In Australia, the Racial Hatred Act 1995 amends the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, inserting Part IIA – Offensive Behaviour Because of Race, Colour ...

ECHR appeal

In February 2016, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

condemned

in first instance in the case of Mammadov (no. 81553/12). For the Strasbourg judges, the handling of the case was in breach of articles 3 (inhumane and degrading treatments, right to an investigation) and 34 (right to an individual petition) of the

European Convention of Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the ...

, and thus condemned the Azerbaijani authorities to pay Mammadov 13,000 euros in non-material damages and 2,500 euros in legal charges.

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBC Transeuropa or OBCT) is a think tank and online newspaper based in Trento, Italy, and specialised on South East Europe. It reports on social, cultural and political developments across 6 EU member ...

L'Azerbaijan condannato a Strasburgo per maltrattamenti contro un giornalista
5 February 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mammadov, Hilal Azerbaijani journalists Azerbaijani human rights activists Human rights abuses in Azerbaijan Azerbaijani people of Talysh descent People from Astara District 1959 births Living people Talysh people The National Talysh Movement