The third court hearing on newspaper stalls will take place on Wednesay

The third court hearing on the lawsuit from the news agency Turan against the Baku Mayor Office will take place  on January 23 in the  Baku Administrative Economic Court Number 1, chaired by Vusala Bahysheva.

The suit was filed in accordance with Article 24.1 of the law "On Freedom of Information." It cites the denial of Mayor Hajibala Abutalibov to provide information related to the installation of new kiosks in the capital.

In a letter dated August 28, as a result of damage to print media, Abutalibov was requested to answer questions about the legal and regulatory side of the establishment of new stalls, of their legal owner, the reason why they are used for other purposes, and the application.

The defendant ignored the hearing  on December 14, and did not inform the court about it. At the last meeting on December 19 , the representative of the Department of Trade and Services of the Mayor's Office was unable to answer the questions raised in the letter.

Moreover, the order by the EP (Executive Power) of Baku numbered 521 of 28 October, 2011 made clear the illegal  establishing  of these kiosks  belonging to GASID.

As is known, the monitoring undertaken by journalists showed that the new kiosks sell newspapers in an artificially limited number, and the restriction applies especially to independent and opposition papers. Some kiosks do not sell periodicals, but actively trade beverages and cigarettes. All this has led to a decrease in circulation of newspapers and violation of the rights of publishers and readers. -0 –