In the letter, it is pointed out that Leyla Yunus has the right to raise legitimate concerns about conditions and affairs in Azerbaijan.
It states that Yunus merely quoted the proceedings of a public trial and commented on them. "The information that surfaced during the trial had a clear public interest, and the content of the allegations should rather have lead to an investigation of them rather than to a civil libel case against one of the persons who made them more generally known", the letter reads.
The Ministry of the Interior of Azerbaijan claims that Yunus has violated Article 10 of the Law on the Media, and Article 23 of the Civil Code of Azerbaijan. The Ministry also claimed that the statement has caused moral damages to the “professional reputation of the police” and asked for Leyla Yunus to be fined 100,000 manat (equivalent to 100,000 euro).
The court date has been set for 23 January 2009.
Documents:
- NHC’s and HRHF’s letter to the Azeri Minister of the Interior
Lawsuit against Leyla Yunus sent to Yasamal District Court
Today, 26 January, in the Nasimi District Court, under the chairmanship of Shahin Abdullayev, the preliminary hearing continued on the lawsuit of Internal Minister Ramil Usubov against Chairperson of the Institute for Peace and Democracy Leyla Yunus.
The judge announced his decision on the motion filed on behalf of the defendant during the previous hearing. The motion was partially fulfilled. A decision was issued to send Usubov’s lawsuit against Yunus to the Yasamal District Court.
During the hearing, the plaintiff was represented by lawyer Alirza Habilov and the defendant was represented lawyer Isakhan Ashurov.
During the last hearing on 23 January, claiming that Leyla Yunus’ legal address was shown incorrectly and the lawsuit was not composed correctly, Ashurov filed a motion to have the lawsuit not accepted for consideration.
Source: Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS)
