Court in Baku rejects complaint of journalist Farkhadoglu against investigator

Today, the Yasamal District Court of Baku has dismissed the complaint lodged by journalist Tapdyg Farkhadoglu about the refusal of Mubariz Asadov, an investigator of the district prosecutor's office to open a criminal investigation into the beating of the journalist.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 20, more than 100 students of the Baku State University (BSU) came out to protest against increased fees for re-examination. The BSU Security Service and the police tried to resist the action; and reporters who covered the action also suffered. An unidentified man in civilian clothes, who commanded the actions of security personnel, damaged the camera of Tapdyg Farkhadoglu, a correspondent of the Turan News Agency, and punched Etimad Budagov, a photojournalist of the agency.

The Yasamal District Prosecutor's Office refused to open a criminal investigation into the attack on Farkhadoglu.

At its today's session, the court announced its decision on the journalist's complaint against the above refusal, as Samira Agaeva, the legal representative of Farkhadoglu, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Judge Azer Tagiev left the complaint without satisfaction and explained his decision by the fact that "no particular witnesses of the incident were specified," said Samira Agaeva. According to her version, these arguments are untenable, because during the trial, not only witnesses, but also other journalists who suffered in the action, were identified.

The journalist Tapdyg Farkhadoglu himself disagreed with the court's decision and announced his intention to appeal against it at the appellate court.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.