The defense plans to appeal the verdict in higher instances till the European Court of Human Rights. International community has strongly condemned the case as political one and Amnesty International has already adopted the bloggers as "prisoners of conscience."

Emin Milli, 30, and Adnan Hajizade, 26, were assaulted and beaten while dining in a downtown Baku restaurant and then detained for hooliganism on early July this year.

Note: this piece was posted with a back date

However, the new government in Baku fell – various narratives talk of it as either a coup, or a national salvation. Hikmat Hajizade was dismissed from his post and recalled home. And then, it happened in Baku, when the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan was assaulted and severely beaten while walking in the street of its capital – somewhere in downtown in 1993.

Now, after sixteen years, history is repeating itself once again: this time it is Hikmat Hajizade’s son Adnan who was assaulted and severely beaten together with his friend Emin Milli while dining in a downtown restaurant. Yet, what ended for Hikmat Hajizade with injuries and possibly, bitter pains, has ended for Adnan with additional two-month pretrial detention and plus, a hooliganism charge promising up to 5 years in jail. Not an adequate perspective for a University of Richmond alumnus and BP employee, and a pioneer of video-blogging in Azerbaijan. Neither for his friend, Emin Milli – former country director of Friedrich Ebert Foundation and former Council of Europe consultant.

Back in 1993, when Hikmat Hajizade was assaulted and beaten, the country was embroiled in a bitter chaos, partly a fault of incompetency of the government once he represented. Baku’s major street fights and last armed uprising were to be subdued two years later – I still recall those bullet sounds in my neighbourhood. Now, the country enjoys a stability and oil revenues have created some sense of prosperity – however, the state of freedoms seems to change in a worse direction – sixteen years ago, a father would be beaten, but now, a son is not only beaten, but is also jailed and can face an endarkening prison sentence.

Democratic activism is a long tradition in Hajizade family, as well as the state of being assaulted and beaten for their activities – the only new element here is the fact that Adnan Hajizade now is being tried for both. Below – is the interview of Adnan Hajizade’s father to RFE/RL Azeri service, with English subtitles.

This summer it was really hot in Azerbaijan, and not only in regard to temperature. In the beginning of July, two youth activists and bloggers, Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada were assaulted while dining in a restaurant in downtown Baku. They tried to file a complaint in police, but were detained instead and got two-month sentences while awaiting trial for alleged hooliganism. Since then, fifth consecutive kangaroo court behind closed doors has denied justice to them.

Reason? Criticism of the government policies. And a satirical Youtube video ridiculing government’s purchase of two donkeys from Germany for a price of 40,000 euros each.

Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, OSCE and European Union, UN and a number of foreign countries have stepped in, as well as Emin and Adnan’s respective Alma Maters – Saarland University and University of Richmond. Letters to the President of Azerbaijan arrive in piles. The New York Times and the London Times talk about ‘crackdown on online media‘ and ‘repressions in Azerbaijan‘. Yet, ‘don’t politicize the case’ and ‘bloggers are hooligans’ are the message coming from the authorities.

Enough negative portrayal, you think? Definitely not! Because, those who voted for Armenian entry in Eurovision Song Contest 2009 have to be interrogated to learn their real degree of patriotism. Don’t recall the Nagorno-Karabakh War? Then we will remind you.

In the middle of August, some forty people receive sudden phone calls to arrive at a local branch of National Security Ministry. And they are asked there why they voted for Armenian song. Ah, you liked it? What a terrible taste you have, by the way…

Yes, music is a national security matter in Azerbaijan, it seems. No matter that BBC, Guardian and Reuters know our vulnerabilities and the deeds of Azeri intelligence services. Besides, if you hear that the European Broadcasting Union is launching an investigation into the case – after all, if people can’t vote to the song they like, then what a contest is this? – still not enough publicity.

As we don’t like Hollywood style happy ends, then here is the third news for you – Azeri journalist and newspaper editor, as well as minority rights activist Novruzali Mammadov dies in jail where he was serving 10 years for treason charges. Spying for Iran, as well as "cooperating with linguist colleagues from the USA, Canada, Britain, Germany, and research on the contemporary Talysh language by conducting social surveys, trips, etc." Neither forget his appeal to Azerbaijan Public TV to open a program in native tongue of the ethnicity he belonged, as well as 800,000 Azeri nationals still do.

However, we should understand that it is capitalism and private groups should also get their market share of this publicity. Therefore, tomorrow World Azerbaijanis Congress is going to have a round-table named "The Action of 43 Azerbaijani Citizens Who Voted for Armenian Representative [in Eurovision] in the focus of public discussion". Attendants will be Congress members, famous intellectuals of Azerbaijan, activists from Iranian Azerbaijan, students and media people [with axes]. As if the fantastic riches of the cave have been already acquired, and all remaining is to get rid of "40 thieves". Open, Sesame!

However, in judiciary practice, such defendants usually get released on bail or end with a house arrest. According to law expert Erkin Gadirli, two months of pre-trial detention is the maximum period that a law-breacher can receive, and this type of detention is usually conditioned with disturbing criminal past of detainees, their liaisons inside and outside of the prison, as well as degree of their dangerousness, possibility of their escape, degree of graveness of the crime, etc. Surely, with no criminal records or behaviour, Emin and Adnan recieved the harshest verdict possible.

Even visiting German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Günter Nooke was not allowed to attend the trial. The Chairman of Sabail District Court Justice Gulzar Rzayeva refused to let in Günter Nooke or anybody else by pointing out that the trial is held behind closed doors in accordance with Azerbaijani laws. While around 150 supporters of Emin and Adnan, as well as residents of neighborhood, international and local NGO representatives, foreign diplomats and Mr. Nooke waited outside at the tightly closed door of the court house, the court sentenced both activists to two months of detention in presence of indicted and their lawyers, but refusing to listen to witnesses and bringing in the ‘victims’ of the alleged hooliganism act.

During these two months while Emin and Adnan are in detention, the investigation has to be concluded and their case brought before the judge. If the investigation is not concluded, their detention period can be extended for additional two months. While detained, they won’t be able to receive any guests, instead of their lawyers. They will be held in a new detention center in a town of Kurdokhani, a small town in an hour’s drive from Baku.

Emin Milli is one of prominent civil society activists in Azerbaijan and helped to forge a powerful but flexible Alumni Network (AN) – an incredible pre-Facebook era social network and strong mobilization force for country’s youth.  Four days ago, on 4th July, Emin was a speaker in a Heinrich Böll Foundation roundtable dedicated to a democratization process in Azerbaijan, where he strongly criticized the Azerbaijani government for its anti-democratic practices.

Adnan Haji-zadeh is one of the founders of OL! Youth Movement, a liberal entity that declares the principles of modernity, non-violence and tolerance. Adnan himself is a pioneer of video-blogging in Azerbaijan and is famous for his video reportages covering problems and challenges of youth and posted in Youtube.

Baku based Institute of Reporters’ Freedom and Safety has called Emin and Adnan’s arrest ‘politically motivated’. Visiting Deputy Secretary of U.S. State Department, James Steinberg has told RFE/RL Azeri Service that they keep this issue under constant attention, while Günter Nooke warned that this incident ‘can create a scandal beyond the borders of Azerbaijan’ and ‘damage her image’.