A resident of Astara is the first victim of defamation in Internet

Astara Regional  Court sentenced Mikail Talybov, a resident of the region,  to hard labor for  one year with retention of 20% of salary. This is the punishment for criticizing the social networks. Thus, the decision of Astara  regional court is the first practical application of the recent legislative amendments, spreading the criminal penalties for libel and insults on the Internet.

Media Rights Institute (MRI) strongly condemns the harsh judgment of the court in relation to the expression of opinions during discussions on the Internet.

"This decision is  contrary to democratic principles, to the Constitution providing freedom of expression,"  reads the statement of the MRI. 

The reason for punishment Talybov became the criticism  of "AccessBank", where he worked. Considering his dismissal illegal, he created a page in facebbok  and called it  «Accessbank-Haqsızbank" (Accessbank-Unfair Bank.")

In turn, the bank appealed to court, which found libelous  the phrase «Accessbank-Unfair bank", "Earned money in Azerbaijan - against Azerbaijan», «Accessbank increasing political pressure in Azerbaijan, causing discontent among the population," "For  a loan 50,000 manat the bank takes a bribe of 5,000 manat."  The court ordered Talybov to make a refutation in the facebook.

The MRI considered the decision of the court as a serious threat to freedom of expression in the Internet, and calls on the government to pass a law abolishing criminal penalties for defamation.

During discussing the document in the parliament by representatives of the government and the parliament, it was stated that sanctions will not touch the statements in the social networks, as they will  be applied only to online media.—05C06-