Yesterday, 14 January, in the Appellate Court, under the chairmanship of Judge Hilal Khalilov, a hearing was held on the lawsuit of ANS Companies Group against “Yeni Musavat” Newspaper. “Yeni Musavat” employee Elshad Pashasoy told this to the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety. According to Pashasoy, the Appellate Court did not fulfill the lawsuit of ANS and upheld the decision of the Narimanov District Court.
This lawsuit stems from an article entitled “Military Minister against Head of Administration” run in “Yeni Musavat” Newspaper on 13 May 2008. It is noted in the article that “tasty relations between the person at the top of our defense and private TV channel are turning into political support center. ‘Dadlilar” macaroni which is produced by a company close to the TV channel plays a role here. This macaroni is being included in the nutrition ration of personal staff of the army and military school students.” ANS filed a lawsuit in the Narimanov District Court against the newspaper claiming that these notions were damaging to their business image and was fake information. ANS demanded that “Yeni Musavat” Newspaper to pay a 60,000 AZN in compensation for moral damages. However, the Narimanov District Court did not fulfill this lawsuit.