The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recognized a violation of the rights of the newspaper Azadliq and journalist Ramin Deko

On November 21, the ECHR announced its ruling regarding the complaint filed by the Azadliq newspaper and its former employee, Ramin Djabrailzade (Ramin Deko), over a violation of their freedom of expression. The complaint was related to fines imposed on the editorial staff and journalist following a lawsuit filed by the owner of a large shopping center in Baku over publications in 2012.

The publication addressed the illegal business dealings between the shopping center's management and its tenants, according to the legal information website aihmaz.org. The editorial office was fined 30,000 manat, and the journalist was fined 2,000 manat. Higher courts did not satisfy the defendants' appeals, prompting them to turn to the ECHR. The ECHR ruling noted that local courts did not investigate the facts presented in the article and failed to determine whether they were true. Additionally, the complainant Djabrailzade attempted to contact the shopping center’s management to verify the facts provided to him.

The ECHR also took into account that between 2011 and 2013, protests against rent increases took place at this shopping center and were covered in local media. Furthermore, the ECHR pointed out that the local courts, when imposing a fine of 32,000 manat, did not justify it, raising questions about the proportionality of the punishment.

The ECHR determined that Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights was violated and awarded Djebrailzade 2,000 euros in compensation, with an additional 1,500 euros for both applicants to cover legal costs.

On October 22, 2012, the Yasamal District Court of Baku granted the lawsuit filed by the head of the Bina shopping center, Kabira Mammadova, against Azadliq and its employee Ramin Deko. The court ruled that the newspaper should pay 30,000 manat (approximately 38,000 USD at the time), and the reporter should pay 2,000 manat (about 2,500 USD). These funds were subsequently deducted from the newspaper’s account by court bailiffs.

The lawsuit was based on articles published in the opposition newspaper Azadliq (Freedom) on July 7-8 and July 9, 2012, titled "Operation 'Eurovision' of Kabira Mammadova." These Articles alleged that after the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, Kabira Mammadova demanded that tenants of the Bina shopping center pay 5,000 manat (about 6,300 USD) each, justifying this demand with the claim that the shopping center had incurred significant expenses due to financing the Eurovision contest. Mammadova disagreed with the publications, claiming they damaged the business reputation of the shopping center and her personal image.