Azerbaijan's SC upholds court decision to fine "Azadlyg"

The Azerbaijan's Supreme Court (SC) upheld the verdict obliging the newspaper "Azadlyg" to pay to Tagi Akhmedov, Chief of the Baku metro, a fine in the amount of 30,000 manats. A representative of the newspaper treated the decision as the pressure on the newspaper from the authorities.

The Supreme Court's decision became known on February 13.

Let us remind you that in September 2012, the Yasamal Court pronounced the decision to fine the newspaper for the amount of 30,000 manats, and the Baku Court of Appeal upheld that decision.

The lawsuit arose from the material published in the newspaper "Azadlyg", which stated that after the increase in metro fare, a problem of using balances on metros passes arose. The newspaper concluded that the balances were embezzled by the metro.

Rakhim Gadjiev, the acting editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Azadlyg", called the amount of the fine for the newspaper "fantastic" and treated the courts' decisions as the pressure from the authorities to silence the newspaper. He did not rule out the possibility of holding a public campaign to collect donations to pay the fine, the "contact.az" reports.