Journalist Khadija Ismailova reports being slandered by Azerbaijani MNS

The Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismailova has stated, after the session on Friday on the lawsuit against her lodged by the former oppositionist Elman Tyurkoglu, that the country's Ministry of National Security (MNS) had slandered her. She asserts that the statements of the MNS that she had published on the Internet, and then deleted materials, where Tyurkoglu was mentioned, are false.

The consideration of the lawsuit claim to Khadija Ismailova began on October 9. The claimant is a former member of the "Classic" Popular Front Elman Gasanov, also known as Elman Tyurkoglu. He claims that Khadija had slandered him by posting the material about his collaboration with secret services with the aim to undermine the opposition from within. According to Khadija, in the published material his name was crossed out.

The response of the MNS has no proofs that Ismailova had disseminated texts about Tyurkoglu and then deleted them, said Elton Guliev, the advocate for Khadija. He stressed that the version of the text with mentioning Tyurkoglu was posted in 2011 by the user under the nickname "Mustafa Kozlu."

In his turn, Elman Tyurkoglu said that an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Natig Adilov was writing under the above nickname. He added that he would seek to make Adilov accountable either.

Khadija Ismailova said that earlier Tyurkoglu had stated that it was the MNS that recommended going to court. Such advice and the fastness of the MNS' response to the request of the court indicate the falsification of the trial, she believes.