The prosecutor�s office does not know where the opposition sites violated the law, but requires them to block

Baku / 01.05.17 / Turan: On 1 May the Sabail Court of Baku continued hearing  the lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Communications with a demand to block access to a number of opposition and independent news sites. It should be reminded that the Ministry motivates its suit with the representation of the prosecutor's office, which saw in the publications on the websites of the Azerbaijani service of Radio Liberty, Internet TV "Meydan", Turan TV Azerbaijan Saati and Turan TV "threats to the legitimate interests of the state and society"

The claim refers to the provisions of the Constitution and other provisions of the law relating to the overthrow of the existing system, mass riots, etc.

However, the claim is not substantiated by any conclusions of the linguistic expertise and does not explain which materials of these sites and how the images threaten the existing system in the country. The lawyers called on the plaintiff to present to the court what materials they were talking about. The representative of the Ministry of Communications Bakhtiyar Mammadov showed the screen shots of several articles, saying that they were submitted to the ministry by the Prosecutor General's Office. Lawyer Adyl Ismayilov suggested Mammadov to name what materials of the site Azadliq.org contradict the legislation.

To this Mammadov said that these are articles on 4 suicides in two days; About Jamil Hasanli's comments that rallies are necessary; About the business of Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Romania. “What kind of appeals are contained in these materials?” asked the lawyer. Mammadov said that the Prosecutor General's Office thinks so and could not explain what phrases these appeals consist of.

Further, Mamedov described the materials on the website of the Azadlig newspaper, which according to the Prosecutor's Office also threatened the state: "The Aliyev regime has no future"; "Half pardon raises questions"; "The National Council is discussing holding a rally"; "The Baku regime is in crisis and corruption." He also listed a number of materials on the Meydan TV website of similar content.

The lawyers representing these sites also asked: what anti-state appeals are there? To which Mammadov repeated that the prosecutor's office had come to this conclusion. In this regard, lawyers demanded a linguistic examination and the involvement of the Prosecutor General's Office as a party to the case. Attorney Elchin Sadigov noted that the National Council held a rally permitted by the authorities, and to regard this action as a threat to statehood is absurd.

In the end,  the judge Nureddin Bagirov called on the representative of the Ministry of Communications "to clarify their demands," to determine the term for what period of time access to these sites is blocked, and "to once again study their own evidence." At the same time, the judge ignored the appeals of lawyers to conduct a linguistic examination. The next meeting is scheduled for 3 May at 3 pm.-03C-