On September 24, the Supreme Court under judge Reshadet Agayev rejected the cassation appeal filed by the Yeni Musavat and Azadlig newspapers against the February 2, 2012 decision of the Baku Appeals Court, denying their appeal against the decision of the Yasamal District Court based on the libel lawsuit brought against the newspapers by Anar Mammadov, son of the transport minister Ziya Mammadov.
Businessman Anar Mammadov appealed to the court citing humiliation of his honor and damage to his business reputation in the article titled "Kamaladdin Heydarov's bear eaten" (published in the Azadlig newspaper on 1 July, 2010 and in Yeni Musavat on 2 July, 2010), and the article titled "Sheikh drives Anar Mammadov out of Dubai" (published in Yeni Musavat on 14 September, 2010). Mammadov demanded 250,000 AZN from each newspaper in compensation.On January 23rd 2012 Yasamal District Court partially granted the lawsuit by fining each newspaper 2000 manat and requiring that each publish a retraction and apologize. Baku Appeals Court rejected the defendant’s appeal filed against the original ruling on February 2, 2012.
The Azadlig and Yeni Musavat, the largest newspapers of the country, are published since 1989.