The court declines law suit against opposition newspaper "Azadlyg" in Azerbaijan

Today, the court heating on the suit of the Union for Freedom members against the newspaper "Azadlyg" was completed at the Yasamalski district court of the Azeri capital Baku, presided by Elchin Gubayev.

The plaintiff claimed that the editing board should be deprived of its ownership of the newspaper "Azadlyg" and 150,000 manats compensation from the defendant be exacted. However, the judge found the claims to be ungrounded and dismissed them. Takhmasib Novruzov, representative of the plaintiff, expressed his disagreement and stated that "the first instance court ruling does not decide anything".

Azer Akhmedov, director of the newspaper "Azadlyg", met the court decision with applause. However, during his talk with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Akhmedov noted that "There is no independent judiciary in Azerbaijan and the today's court ruling is only an imitation of the fact that the authorities are not biased towards the newspaper "Azadlyg".

It should be noted that, at different periods in time, the plaintiffs shifted from opposition to the pro-government camp and now, calling themselves "genuine members of the Popular Front", they lay their claims to the newspaper on the ground that, from 1989 to 1995, their organization was the founder of "Azadlyg". However, the newspaper staff consider these claims "absurd".

The court hearings on the case started on July 10. Azer Akhmedov, director of the newspaper "Azadlyg", stated at the time that "the demand to meet the said claims is the same as a demand to return Azerbaijan to the USSR ". Akhmedov considers the law suit as a continuation of the campaign by the authorities to close the newspaper.