COMPLAINT SENT TO EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ON VERDICT ADOPTED AGAINST “AZADLIG” NEWSPAPER

The Media Rights Institute told the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety today that today a complaint against one of the verdicts adopted against “Azadlig” Newspaper has been sent to the European Court of Human Rights.

In the complaint it is noted that articles 10 (freedom of expression) and 6 (fair court trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated in the case against “Azadlig.” The European Court of Human Rights is asked to acknowledge this, and to adopt a decision for compensation of damages and expenses related to the case.  
Recall that in December 2006 the Sabail District Court ordered the newspaper to publish a refutation and fined Azadlig newspaper 40,000 AZN and the newspaper’s Chief Editor Ganimet Zahid 25,000 AZN. This verdict was upheld by the Appellate and Supreme courts. The case stems from the publication of three articles about Tariel Agayev, the assistant of ex-president Heydar Aliyev, in which a list of real estate reportedly misappropriated by Agayev in the Barda region was published. The articles are “President’s assistant’s corruption administration” and “What corruption was former president’s former assistant T. Agayev involved in” published on 9 September 2006, and “Blue Whales and the holiday appetite of Agayev’s grandchildren.”