Azerbaijani SC rejects journalist Mustafa Gadjibeili's complaint against verdict

The defence of the Azerbaijani journalist Mustafa Gadjibeili has found a violation of his rights after his complaint against the verdict was rejected, and stated that it would appeal against the decision of the Azerbaijani Supreme Court (SC) to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Azerbaijani authorities had blocked the "Bastainfo.com" website, where Mustafa Gadjibeili is the editor-in-chief, after publications about the assassination attempt on the head of Ganja. On November 30, 2018, Gadjibeili was accused of public appeals against the state, abuse of power and forgery. On February 21, 2019, a court sentenced Gadjibeili to 5.5 years of conditional imprisonment. The international journalists' organization "Reporters without Borders" condemned the verdict.

Emin Guseinov, Director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Security (IRFS), believes that Gadjibeili is being persecuted for the freedom of expression.

"Firstly, the media law exempts from responsibility for re-publications, if they had not been refuted. Secondly, the charge of appeals against the state should contain specific calls for seizing the power and changing the constitutional system by force; there was nothing of the sort in his publications," Mr Guseinov has explained.