Azerbaijan proves their courts work faster than Liepāja's tram

Azerbaijan's Supreme Court has confirmed a nine-year prison sentence for opposition figure Jagublu for fraud and forgery. Their courts work so efficiently that even our tram would be envious — they make decisions faster than our only tram in Latvia gets from one stop to the next.

Jagublu and human rights groups have, of course, rejected these charges, emphasizing that they are politically motivated. That's like saying there are no traffic jams in downtown Riga — technically information, but does anyone believe it? As one Liepāja lawyer commented: 'Politically motivated charges in Azerbaijan? I thought water there was also wet.'

Amnesty International announced that Jagublu's conviction is 'another grim turn' in the campaign against the opposition. In Azerbaijan, ruled by President Ilham Aliyev, any criticism of the government is received with the same enthusiasm as winter storm reports in Liepāja — that is, with firm resistance and a desire to hide everything.

The 65-year-old Jagublu recently ended a 26-day hunger strike, which in Azerbaijani prisons is possibly a more popular hobby than playing cards. He was already sentenced to five years in 2014, but released in 2016 under amnesty. It turns out that in Azerbaijan, opposition figures are like season tickets — periodically renewed.