Today, 6 May, in the Baku Appellate Court, under the Chairmanship of Judge Aygun Abdullayeva, a hearing took place on the appeal of “Abu Bakr” Mosque Imam Gamet Suleymanov against the decision of the Yasamal District Court on his lawsuit against the Azeri bureau of “Radio Liberty.”
On 15 December 2008 the Yasamal District Court Judge Abbas Bagirov issued a decision to partially fulfill the lawsuit of Gamet Suleymanov. According to the decision, “Radio Liberty” had to publish a refutation on its website.
Authoritative representative of the plaintiff Rashad Mammadov and Media Rights Institute Lawyer, authoritative representative of “Radio Liberty,” Fariz Namazli participated in the hearing.
Mammadov said, “If a refutation is published on “Radio Liberty’s” website, we are ready to come to an agreement.”
Namazli stated that Abu Bakr” Mosque Imam Gamet Suleymanov’s honor and dignity has not been damaged in the article published on “Radio Liberty’s” website and therefore no refutation will be published.
The plaintiff’s representative asked the judge for more time to familiarize himself with the appeal. Judge A. Abdullayeva scheduled the next hearing for 20 May at 11:45 a.m.
G. Suleymanov appealed to the Yasamal District court after an article entitled “Who are the Havaris?” was published on the website of “Radio Liberty,” claiming that the article was damaging to the interests of the mosque and demanded that “Radio Liberty” publish a refutation on the website and pay 50,000 AZN compensation.