With only two days left to the one year anniversary since his arrest, rights activist Rasul Jafarov's original sentence of 6.5 years was reduced to 6 years and 3 months.
The Baku Court of Appeals changed the original verdict July 31 dismissing the tax evasion charge following Jafarov paying his outstanding tax debt.
Jafarov, human rights defender and founder of the Sport for Rights, Sing for Democracy and Art for Democracy campaigns was arrested August 2, 2014, on charges of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of power.
He was sentenced to six and a half years in April, 2015. Amnesty International recognized Jafarov as "prisoner of conscience".