Editor-in-chief of Azerbaijani website accused of defamation

Anar Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the "criminal.az" website, has treated the lawsuit filed against him on protection of one's honour and dignity as unjustified. Activists have stood up in his defence.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 18, 2019, Anar Mamedov was sentenced to 5.5 years of conditional imprisonment. The court found him guilty of public appeals against the state, abuse of his service power and forgery. Harlem Désir, the Representative of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) for the freedom of the media, urged to reconsider the Mamedov's case.

The lawsuit against was brought forward by Malakhat Gurbanova, the owner of the "Lombard N:1" Company. She accuses him of defamation in his articles about her litigation with a former Minister of Labour over some non-residential area and notes that she is not engaged in any lombard activities, accusing the journalist of defending the ex-minister's interests.

25 activists, including representatives of NGOs, have stated that Mamedov had earlier been "illegally interrogated and threatened; and was also sentenced under unjustified charges to 5.5 years of conditional imprisonment for covering the Ganja events of July 2018."

"It is clear that the activities of the independent website are worrying the ruling circles; and they are trying to stop the website," the activists' document asserts. They treat the new charge as "continued pressure on Mamedov."