Today, in the Binagadi District Court, under the chairmanship of Judge M. Kazimov, a preliminary hearing was conducted on the lawsuit of “Adalat” Party Chairman, Azerbaijan Milli Mejlis Member (parliamentarian) Ilyas Ismayilov under articles 147 and 148 of the Criminal Code in the form of special lawsuit against “Nota” Newspaper Head Advisor Faramaz Novruzoglu and “24 Saat” Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Ilham Tumas.
The lawsuit stems from the article “Russia rejects Ilyas Ismayilov” published in “24 Saat” Newspaper on 28 May 2008. In the article, Ismayilov is accused of having relations with separatists and being a politician working under orders of Russia.
During the hearing, Novruzoglu stated that he did not write the article in question. “Whenever I publish an article in any newspaper I confirm it with my signature. I did not write this article and did not give it to the newspaper. And there is no evidence to prove this,” said Novruzoglu.
The defendant Tumas did not participate in the hearing and therefore the judge postponed the hearing until 23 December, 3:00 p.m.
The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety employees were not allowed to film or take photos during the hearing.
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