Media Development Agency started suing Unregistered websites

Baku/07.11.23 /Turan: The Media Development Agency of Azerbaijan has started filing lawsuits against sites that have not been registered in the media registry. The Agency filed a lawsuit with the Baku Court of Appeal for "termination of its activities,"  the head of the site dia.az Mohammad Zamanov told Turan.  The statement of claim notes that Zamanov did not apply for inclusion in the register within the established time frame, therefore his activities as a journalist and the site as a media structure are subject to prohibition.

"They can tell me why you haven't applied for inclusion in the register yet? But what's the use of conversion? Similar criticizing sites were contacted, but in vain, so I did not apply," Zamanov noted. The website headed by him continues to function and even if the court satisfies the claim, it will still continue to operate.

The head of the Communications Department of the Media Development Agency, Saida Safieva, said at Turan's request that the Agency takes measures against media subjects provided for by the charter of this structure. These are media that grossly violate the Law on Media, she said, without specifying how many such media.

On October 14, 2022, the process of registration in the media register of Azerbaijani journalists and mass media began. Registration was conducted for 6 months and ended in April. Last year, the Media Development Agency stated that the legality of the activities of media entities that did not apply for registration would be considered by the court.

The new Media Law was adopted on December 30, 2021 and was signed by the Head of State on February 8, 2022 and entered into force.

The law was criticized by independent media experts, many journalists, international structures, who noted that the document is aimed at restricting freedom of the press and speech. ----21B06----