From behind bars 'the two "Donkey Bloggers' from Azerbaijan said they hold out no hope of a successful appeal against their seven year sentences.
They want to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg calling it "our duty" to do so.
Both have been highly critical of the administration of President Ilham Aliyev and had a role in circulating a by Internet in which an activist in a donkey costume conducts a mock press conference.
The case that has brought the attention of international human rights groups and sparked tension between Baku and other governments.
Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli appeared in a Baku appellate court for an appeal, which was postponed to early.
Milli added that there is "no bigger honor than...to fight for your ideas and values."
Hajizade and Milli said they are both healthy and have no complaints about their treatment in prison.
The court denied a request today for the bloggers to be released on bail.
Hajizade and Milli were sentenced last month to two and 2 1/2 years, respectively, in jail on hooliganism charges after a scuffle at a restaurant during the summer.
Both maintain that they were attacked in the restaurant in a politically motivated provocation in retribution for criticizing the government.
The European Parliament last week called for their immediate release in a resolution critical of what it called the deterioration of media freedom in Azerbaijan.
International human rights organizations have called the charges against the two men politically motivated.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=81d2ac7f-5524-4c5c-b1ca-a53259a4e710)
Leave a comment