A court in Azerbaijan has convicted nine journalists and founders of a top independent news outlet on charges of financial crimes and sentenced them to prison in what international media rights groups denounced Tuesday as a politically driven case to stifle critical voices in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation.
Toplum online TV founder and director Alasgar Mammadli was sentenced to 14 years in prison by the court in the capital of Baku. It gave 15-year prison terms to activists Akif Gurbanov and Ruslan Izzetli, who co-founded the outlet. Other journalists and activists associated with Toplum TV received sentences ranging from 12 to 14 years.
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