Today, 23 December, 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 (Allahverdiyev) and "24 Saat" Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Ilham Tumas (Agayev).
During the hearing Ilham Tumas claimed that the article in question was written by F.Novruzoglu. The article has been submitted to the court in a disc. However, F.Novruzoglu stated that whenever he publishes an article in any newspaper, he confirms it with his signature.
In the end, Judge M.Kaziomov took the case for consideration and scheduled the next hearing for 30 December at 10:00 a.m.
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. I.Ismayilov demands that the journalist be arrested.